Rules Are Meant To Be Broken
by DarkReaper3232
Summary: After the "Family VS Government War of 2015", James "Reaper" Marx goes into hiding after the powerful family, Siciliyz Finest Men and Women, splits to prevent any one of it's members from being tracked down and killed. As time goes on, he makes his living as a bounty hunter. Little does he know that the next bounty he collects will lead to events that will bring back old friends.
1. New Day, Same Thing

**Chapter 1**

**New Day, Same Thing**

April 4th, 2020.

I walked in the ruins of what was left of the old Central Plaza. I spotted the crater from the explosion still there in the center, where the fountain used to be. The dance floor no longer spit out any electricity from the wires. All power to this area was gone. Blood stains and bullet holes covered the walls and the ground. I'll never forget that fight.

You may be wondering who I am. Well, I'm known by many names. Some called me "Reaper". Others call me "The Angel of Death". Few call me "One-Eye", but they don't live long enough to call me anything else…God I fuckin' hate that name…

My name is James. I'm the former Head of Security of the last, most powerful family, "Siciliyz Finest Men and Women". We were the top-dogs back in the day. No one screwed with us. And if they did, they wouldn't last much longer.

I was the family's number-one fighter. No one could outmatch me in a fight. Be it wielding swords or guns, or an all-out fist-fight, I was the best. Sure, I had my challenges, but I still gave everything I had in a fight. Unless you count the time I toyed with Hawk, but that's another story.

I pulled the scarf down off my face and removed the hood from my cloak. I peered through my aviators to scan what was left of the plaza. There wasn't anything to scavenge, the place was picked clean. I had trained my right eye to see better, considering I only had one good eye. The little bastard got a lucky shot in…

I walked slowly through the ruins, reliving all the times here. Sometimes I would see the images of men and women chatting, dancing, eating… all of 'em having a good time. Other times I would see me and my fellow fam members fighting alongside each other. Those were the days.

After the hard loss of the war, I became a bounty hunter. It wasn't fun, but an easy way to make credits. Kill a guy here and there and I could sleep with a few thousand credits in my wallet. After five years, the shit gets boring, y'know?

The family knew it would be harder for the government to track us if we split up and disbanded. It was a hard decision to make, but it had to be done. No one, to the best of my knowledge, has heard from anyone since that day. I severed all my ties to them, just to be safe.

It's been about 5 years since that day. I miss them all. I miss our leader, Don; That hot-headed Italian, Justyn; The muscle, Mikey; Hulio, our techie and brains; The twin assassins, EJ and Ashley; and one of the toughest female brawlers out there, Amy. But the one I miss most, the girl who proved she could take on whatever you put her through, Kitty Johnson. A resilient woman, she was. I spend a brief moment reminisce… damn, I'd give anything to bring the old fam back.

"Look what we got here boys! Fresh meat and some nice tech!" a raider shouted from behind me.

I turned to see a small group of raiders walking towards me. All had clubs, bats with nails, and lead pipes. I sighed to myself and took my sunglasses off, tucking them in my trench coat.

"When will little fucks like you learn?" I asked them, slowly turning to face them.

"Oh my God! It's Reaper!" one shouted, trembling.

"Isn't that the guy who was SFM's security leader?" another asked.

I gave a sinister chuckle and drew my two trusted katanas from their sheaths on my back. Giving them a small twirl I looked to the group before me. "You should run away now, before I chop you up into pieces."

"Fuck him, let's get him!" the leader of the group shouted. They all rushed me, weapons high above their heads. I ran at the group, this was gonna be easy.

The air filled with the sounds of steel clashing and blades cutting through flesh. Screams of agony sounded through the dust of the ruins.

I stood, covered in their own blood. All of them… dead. The attacks and raid parties were getting more annoying by the day. Every day the same thing; I look for supplies, get attacked, kill em all and walk away with blood stained swords.

For some reason, I thought tomorrow would be a new day. I had a strange feeling like something big was gonna happen. Maybe it's just me going crazy from all the heat and dust, or maybe something over the horizon was gonna change. Either way, I knew something would change.

I grabbed my shades and put them back on. I scavenged through the raiders belongings and collected a few credits, some ammo, and a little bit of food. It was enough to keep me alive until tomorrow. I turned and headed back to my shack on the outskirts of the new town, called "The Hub". It was fancy alright, but a guy like me didn't belong there. Not to mention I could get in deep shit if the government found out who I am.

After a long walk back to my shack, I laid my newly gathered supplies down in my lock box. Took my cloak and coat off and hung them on a hook. Removing my shirt, I sat down on my bed and took my boots off. I rubbed my face, stressed out from the day. It was becoming too repetitive and boring.

Seeing my reflection in the mirror and seeing all the tattoos on my body reminded me of all the things I had been through. The one on my back was what I was known by. There was a set of angel wings that covered most of my back. Connecting the wings was a skull with crossed scythes behind it. "The Angel of Death" was written above it on my shoulder blades. The sleeves on my arms were of tribal design with a picture here and there. The grim reaper was on my left shoulder and a Chinese dragon was on my right.

I removed the cloth band around my left eye and looked into the mirror at the battle scar I'll never forget. I looked at how my eye was whited-out with a small cut running through it, perfectly even with the cuts on my skin above and below it. _Little bastard got me good…_ Thoughts ran through my mind of all the battles I was in. It made me feel like looking at old faithful, for old times' sake.

I opened the secret area of the shack and walked into the underground room. There stood my old set of armor, back from the days of SFM. Each scar on it told a different story. But it was time to start a new day, it's getting late.

I walked back up to the bedroom and laid down, closed my eyes and drifted off. I have a feeling something big is gonna happen tomorrow…


	2. Bounty of a Lifetime

**Chapter 2**

**Bounty of a Lifetime**

I got up the next morning, groggy as always. I sat on the edge of my bed, lit a cigarette and got up. I looked out the window and saw the same thing I see every day…sand. Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, I sat down at my table.

While I was drinking, my phone began to ring. I looked at the screen; it was Markos, my contact for bounties.

"What is it Mark?"

"Hey hey James! Guess what I just found out?"

"Your wife WAS sleeping with another guy?"

"Ha ha very funny asshole. I got something you're gonna go nuts for."

"Really? What a million credit bounty?" I sarcastically asked.

"Nope. A ten million credit bounty my man!"

I spit my drink out at the sound of that. "Say that again…?" I asked again.

"You heard me boy, a TEN MILLION credit bounty."

"I'll be right down." I assured, hanging up the phone.

I ran into my room and grabbed my gear. I loaded my trusted 45 and holstered it, as well as put my two katanas on my back. Grabbed my coat and cloak and headed out the door. I got on my bike and rode off into town.

I pulled up to the gate and parked my bike outside. The town was called "Scrapyard". Yeah, I know. Not a very pleasant sounding place, but you could go there without the government watching every step you took.

It was an interesting place. Buildings were made out of sheet metal, plywood and concrete. It may sound like what a place should be made of, but it wasn't made to look pretty. It looked like a nuke hit the place and people got too lazy to rebuild.

I walked into the bar and was welcomed warmly by Markos. That shit gets annoying…

"Hey! My main bounty hunter! You want that bounty, don't ya?" he exclaimed as I walked in.

"Shut the fuck up Mark. What is this all about? Who in fucking hell has a ten million credit bounty on their head?" I demanded.

"I'm glad you asked. Let me show you." Markos told me, leading me into the back room.

I took my seat in front of a table. Mark stood by a screen. A picture came up and he began to explain.

"This underground area is home to the last most powerful underground family, known as LCN. That stands for La Cosa Nostra, just in case you wanted to know. The leader of this abomination is a hot-headed wannabe Italian squirt known as Justyno."

My eyes widened as a picture of Justyn popped up on screen. Sure enough, it was him. That crazy fuck was breaking rules again. Wow… and leader of a fam too… I wonder if any more of SFM was in it….

Mark noticed my mood change. "You ok? You act like you've met him before."

"Yeah. We had a few run-ins in the past. I know what he's capable of." I replied. "Got any intel on his high ranks or subordinates?"

"No. we only know about him. He supposedly has connections to outside forces. That's why he is so powerful." Mark continued.

_Cocky bastard_, I chuckled to myself. This was going to get interesting. I stood up and pushed my chair away. "I'll take it."

"I knew you would Jamesy! You never back down!" Markos exclaimed.

I turned to walk out of the room, but had one more question. Turning back to Mark I asked, "Dead or alive?"

"Dead, he's better off that way. Besides, they won't pay unless he is dead." he replied.

I nodded, turned back and walked out of the room. I walked outside the bar, lit a cigarette and thought to myself…

_Justyn, leader of an underground fam… not to mention the most powerful… I guess a lot of good shit can happen in five years._

I got on my bike and sped off to where the bounty said he'd be found. It took about an hour to reach the entrance to his hideout. To be honest, I had no intention of getting the bounty. As much as I could use ten million credits, I needed Justyn and his resources. I was only hoping he would see things my way. And hopefully he wouldn't shoot first and never ask questions, like I know him for.

I readied myself and said a quick prayer. I'll either make it or die trying…

**[Looks like shit's about to go down. Will James convince Justyn? Or will Justyn fuck it all and not give James the help he needs. Find out in the next chapter, "**_**More Than Expected**_**"]**


	3. More Than Expected

**Chapter 3**

**More Than Expected**

I made my way through the small manhole into the sewer area.

_Fucking hell, it stinks…_

It wasn't long before I started noticing security cameras along the path. I did my best to avoid them, but I had to destroy a few of them. Better to be safe than sorry.

The tunnel seemed to lead me on for eternity. There were no turns, just a long, straight path. Hopefully it would lead me straight to Justyn…

As I kept walking, I saw a light. It started small, then got brighter and grew. As it got bigger, I heard a motor.

_Aw fuck me, a patrol unit!?_

A small car-like vehicle was coming straight at me. I dove behind some boxes and unused pipes, just as they were passing.

_I don't think they saw me…_

I peeked out after the sound of the engine whizzed past me and saw it go further down the tunnel. I jumped over the garbage and continued down the path. I could see another light in the distance and a slight sound of voices.

Then I noticed anther light…coming from behind me…

_Oh shit…_

The patrol unit was heading at me…FAST!

I turned and ran to the light in the tunnel. The car was coming in fast and there was no way I could outrun it. So I took a chance and ran for the car.

Drawing one of my swords I leaped into the air right as the car about hit me. I stuck the blade into the roof, causing me to be drug through the air. The car began to slow and I made my move.

I pulled my gun out and shot through the roof, killing the driver. The car kept going at a medium pace. I slung myself into the driver side, kicking the body out the opposite side of the car.

When I got settled inside the car, I noticed that I was very close to the entrance to the hideout.

_Here goes nothing!..._

I slammed the brakes hard, but I was too close for them to do much to slow me. I flew through the entrance. People screamed and ran for cover as I flew inside.

_Please don't hit Justyn, please don't hit Justyn, please don't hit Justyn!_

After flipping through the air and rolling several times, the car came to a stop in the center of a big room.

I got out of the car and brushed myself off, casually. As I was looking down, I saw about twenty red dots all over my body. I looked up to see as many guns pointed right at me.

I gave off an aggravated sigh and shook my head.

"Who the fuck is this cocksucker making his way in here, eh? I familiar voice sounded from behind me.

I turned to Justyn, sitting in his chair. (I flew into the conference room, it would seem.)

"Howdy Justyn." I said.

HEY! James! Long time no see mothah fuckah. How'a doin?" Justyn replied in a somewhat happy voice.

Everyone that held a gun at my face looked around at each other. I could hear people complaining and questioning each other. I don't blame 'em.

"Hey, put your fuckin' guns down before I shoot youse guys! This is an old friend, people! Show some respect." Justyn shouted to the crowd behind me. Everyone did as they were told, smart choice…

He walked off the stage area and greeted me with a handshake and a hug. "James, where the fuck have ya been? It's been…what? Five years?" Justyn said to me.

"Yeah, it has been a while. I've been making a living as a bounty hunter. Not exactly a fun thing, but a great stress reliever and plenty of credits." I replied.

"Haha yeah I bet. So, you heard from any of the old fam? Or has it just been you?"

"Just me, man. I've been solo this whole time. Sure I would get offered to a position from a random fam. They all wanted 'SFM's best fighter' on their side, but they would get taken down in a day."

"Damn… The government is crackin' down hard on these family uprisings. Good thing I got connections to the military AND government. So you see why I have stayed here this whole time, heh heh heh."

My eyes widened. He had connections to the gov? And that's where he was getting his power and weapons…?! Crazy bastard…

"Wow Justyn… such a fuckin rule breaker." I said, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

"Eh, fuck off. I gotta keep my power up, y'know?" he replied, laughing. I chuckled back and nodded.

We continued to walk through hideout, chatting back and forth about the past. As we were walking, I heard several familiar voices.

"James!" A group shouted to me. Turning to see who it was blew my mind. Mikey, Don, Hulio and Amy where making their way to me.

"Well I'll be damned…" I said to Justyn.

"Heh, yeah I found em after a while and we all started LCN." Justyn replied.

It was a hell of a reunion. After giving hugs to them all, we all sat down and chatted, talking about everything that had happened since SFM split.

Mikey and Hulio were a two-man merc team that took out several government agent units alone. Don stuck around with Justyn and helped found LCN, as Justyn's consigliore. Amy went from fam-to-fam for about a year until Mikey recruited her.

_My, how the tables have turned. Justyn started out as Don's consigliore, now the roles have changed… Wow…_

Amy was Lady VP and Mikey was VP over the men. Hulio was still the techie and brains he always was.

"So who's the Godmother?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, Moon isn't here right now. She should be back after a while." Justyn said. "She's a new one to the group. I doubt you know her." I shook my head, never heard the name before.

"Have you seen Kitty, James?" Amy asked.

"Yeah. What about EJ and Ashley? I figured you four would've stuck together…" Mikey chimed in.

I shook my head again. "You guys are the only ones I've seen since that day. I have no idea where they are." I replied.

"I can hack some cameras around town and watch for them." Hulio said to us. Justyn nodded back to him. "Find them if you can." he said. Hulio nodded back and rushed to his computer.

"So, I take it no one has seen or heard from those three?" I asked the group. They all shook their heads.

_Fuck… Where are they..?_

"Hey, someone started a party without me?" a not-so-familiar voice came from behind Justyn.

He turned, and shouted, "Shut the fuck up Wee. We're havin' a family reunion."

"Geez, chill out, dude." the man said back.

"Hey James, this is WeeMan. LCN's Head of Security." Justyn said to me.

Much to my surprise, it was a short man… A VERY short man. He couldn't more than 4'5"…

"WHOA! Are you James "The Reaper"?" Wee asked me, outstretching his hand.

"That's me." I replied, shaking his hand. "Wow Justyn, you found someone shorter than you." I smarted off.

"Hey! Not funny!" WeeMan shouted back to me.

"Yeah, not many people applied for that position." Justyn replied.

"Hmm… I guess you were in…" turning to Wee as I finished my sentence, "SHORT supply."

They whole room died with laughter. Wee wasn't laughing. I don't blame him, but I had to. It was too easy.

WeeMan was getting aggravated quickly. I walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder and smiled at him. "Don't worry bud. I'm just playing." I said to him.

"Oh, well… Don't make me head-butt you in the crotch…cuz…I WILL" Wee said back to me as he walked away.

"Eh, don't worry 'bout him. He'll be fine." Justyn said. "Let's celebrate. We got another original member here. Let's make it a point to find the rest and make LCN just as powerful, if not more, thatn SFM!"

The room filled with shouts and cheers. I guess my gut feeling was right. Something big did happen.

I turned back to Justyn. "You know you got a bounty on you, right? That's how I found you."

"Yeah, I know. We're making a bet on how high it will go. How much?" Justyn said.

I pulled out the small holographic device that showed Justyn the picture with his info, a 3-D model of him and the amount it was worth.

"It's not worth the amount of trouble I'd have to deal with. Only ten million." I replied.

"TEN MILLION!? Damn, I thought it would be higher than that by now… FUCK! I lose the bet…" he shouted.

"Need a corner, Justyn?" Mikey chimed in.

"SHUUUUUT UUUUUPP!" Justyn shouted back.

It was just like old times…

**[HOLY SHIT! That was one helluva reunion. What about Kitty, Ej and Ashley? Are they still around? Or are they gone for good? No one knows… Find out what happens next time in, "Back in the Saddle".]**


	4. Back in the Saddle

**Chapter 4**

**Back in the Saddle**

We all sat around, talking, drinking, laughing… having a great time. Remembering all the battles we fought and everything we went through back in the day. Felt good to be around some old friends. Just wish it was ALL of us…

As we were talking, a few members of the fam walked up to Justyn.

"Yeah? What is it?" Justyn asked.

"Sir, the strike force is ready. The supply van will be coming around shortly." one guy said.

Justyn turned to me and said, "Hey James? Why don't ya go out with the team and show em how it's done? We got a supply van about to pass by that has some supplies we can use. Wanna show em how 'The Reaper' does it?"

I sat there for a second, taking one last sip of my drink. I stood up and said, "Sure thing Justyn. I think that'll be fun."

"EY! That's the James I know. Go get em!" Justyn shouted to me.

I readied my gear and walked with the group to the exit. It led us through an old abandoned building. We came out through the basement and went to the first floor. After walking a short while, we made it to the roof. On the roof, we saw the van coming. It was several blocks down the road.

"Let's go people! We've got to make this quick." one of the team members said to us. They began to flip down over the rails, jumping from building to building. I followed along, doing some acrobatics of my own to match them.

We made it onto the final building after a short run. The van was parked behind the building we were on, in the alley area.

"You two, go down the right. We'll take the left. Reaper… Do what you wish." the leader said to us all. I shrugged and peered over the edge. The team was rappelling down, two on each side. They made their way down, but were spotted before they could do anything. The engine started and was about to speed off.

_Fuck this. I'll do it myself._

I took out my swords, held one upside-down and the other like normal. I leaped over the side of the building. I stuck one sword inside the loose side and used it to slide down. When I was close to the van, I leaped off the wall and flipped to the van, stabbing the roof with the blade just as it was taking off.

I kept my balance as best as I could. The van was taking every turn it could to try to shake me off. I managed to pull my pistol out and started shooting through the roof. I heard a few screams of pain, but the van kept going. I looked inside to see the driver and passenger dead.

_Oh… shit…_

I looked up and saw we were headed to a brick wall. I reacted quick and slung into the driver side, kicking the driver and passenger out. I hit the brakes and prayed for it to stop.

**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH…**

I opened my eyes and saw the van was about six inches from the wall. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, I made it back to the entrance of the hideout. The strike force was there, waiting for me.

"James, nice job!" the leader said.

"Thanks." I said, stepping out of the van. "Let's get these supplies in to Justyn."

As I was walking up to them, they all pulled out their guns and cocked, ready to fire.

"Can't let you do that. We need these more than that air-head of a 'leader' will ever know what to do with them." one said to me.

_Trouble always finds me…_

"Well, I see there are two options. One: We sort this out and we all take it to Justyn. Or two: I kill each one of you little fucks and take them to Justyn. You decide." I taunted.

They looked at each other for a second, and then they began to open fire on me. I ducked behind the van for cover, drawing a sword in one hand and my pistol in the other.

I darted out to my right, doing a side flip out, shooting and killing one. I regained my balance and rushed the other, slicing his hands off then his head. Two down, two to go…

The last two put their guns away and drew out machetes. This was gonna be too easy. I holstered my pistol and drew my second sword. I readied myself and they ran at me. I leaped over one and the sound of steel cutting flesh rang out. As I landed, I turned to face them both. One looked back at me, the other's head slid off its neck, and the body dropped.

The last one ran at me wildly. I put my swords away and readied myself again. His machete came down to my head, but I blocked it with my iron gauntlets. Before he could pull away, I grabbed the blade and pulled it in close. My gloves came in handy for situations like this. He struggled for a moment, but I merely raised my hand to his forehead. With a flick of the wrist, the hidden blade came out and pierced his head, instant death.

I wiped the blood off my blade and put it back in the sheathe on my back.

_Greed is a bitch. Why must people be so consumed by it?..._

I dusted my coat off and started unloading the supplies out. I radioed Justyn that I was here with everything.

000

After me and some other fam members got everything, I went to Justyn to report in.

"Hey, where's the strike team, eh?" Justyn asked.

"I killed em." I replied, without flinching.

"WHAAAAAT!? Why James? Was it necessary?" he whined.

"They wanted the stuff for themselves. I did what I had to do." I sternly said.

"Oh… well, good show. Good show, James." Justyn's voice faded. "Mikey, take note!"

"Yeah?"

"Get better henchmen. And more reliable ones too!"

000

Me and Justyn sat around, talking for a while. We were interrupted by one of his personel rushing to us, out of breath.

"What is it?" Justyn asked.

"Bandits… Central Ruins… they killed several men sir… what do we do?" the guard said, trying to catch his breath in between phrases.

"Aw God-fucking-dammit! AGAIN!? Why do they keep tormenting us like this!?" Justyn shouted, enraged. He lit a cigar and began pacing back and forth, puffing away.

"Want me to check em out?" I asked. "Sounds like fun."

"No Mr. Reaper! It's too dangerous. The bandits are led by a masked woman named HellCat, and she's guarded by two assassins. It's suicide!" the guard told me.

"I think you can do it James. Are ya up to the job? I think we'll make you our new Head of Security if you succeed, which I know you will." Justyn said to me.

I thought for a moment. I didn't really think they would be that much trouble. Sounded like just a bunch of post-apocalyptic crazies. Nothing too special. However… something seemed familiar… Eh, probably just me…

"Sure. Piece of cake." I said, pounding my fists together and cracking my knuckles.

"Attaboy!" Justyn exclaimed, slapping me on the back. "Go get those bitches! They're supposed to be at the old mall."

"Looks like I'll be checking there first." I said, walking to the exit.

_It'll be good to be Head of Security again after all these years…_

**[Looks like LCN has some trouble. Are these your typical bandits, or are they more than that? And who could the masked woman, "HellCat", be. Find out next time in, "Sneaking is for Punks"]**


	5. Sneaking is for Punks

**Chapter 5**

**Sneaking is for Punks**

"BUT! Before you go, WeeMan is coming with you for back up." Justyn called out to me.

"What?! I don't need back up. Since when did I ever need any?" I yelled back.

Justyn pointed to his left eye, then to me. I lifted my hand and rubbed the cloth band around my left eye. "Oh… right…" I mumbled.

"Besides that, Wee can use some tips from SFM's best fighter, eh?" Justyn said.

"True… Alright, come on shorty." I said to WeeMan. He gave a grumbled sigh and followed me. Some of his force came with us as well. This was gonna be fun.

000

We made it about hundred yards from the mall and set up a small base. I began sharpening my swords, making sure they were ready for a fight. Stretched some and loaded my 45.

"Um… Reaper?" a voice came from behind me.

"Yes?" I said turning. It was a young-blood new security recruit.

"Well, sir… Is it true that you lead SFM's security division?" he asked me with a hesitant voice.

"Yep, that's me. Been through Hell and back with that family. Best years of my life."

"Well, I'm new… and I'm scared about this. Those bandits are crazy."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. Take it slow at first. In fact, stay here and defend the base. I'm taking them on myself. I don't want you guys in danger."

"Okay. YES SIR!" he said, rushing off back into the camp.

I chuckled myself and looked over the rocks to the mall. It still stood there, but it was torn to pieces. Windows were broken out, metal beams stuck through the concrete. It was a mess.

"Ready?" WeeMan asked me. I nodded and put my cloak and scarf on. Wee, some guards and I walked down the rocks to the mall.

000

I stood in front of the mall, once a bustling hotspot for shoppers and lovers, now a desolate building harboring who-knows how many secrets. I walked up to the door and jiggled the handle.

_Dammit, locked._

"There is a vulnerable spot we can get in through the roof." Wee said to me. "It is a bit of a climb, but we can…"

"Fuck that. Sneaking isn't my style" I replied. Walking up to the door, I gave a quick thrust kick to it. The door flew off its hinges, going inside the room a few feet.

I took a few steps inside, looked around and turned back to Wee, who was standing in the doorway, mouth wide open.

"What's the worst that can happen?" I said, walking backwards with my arm wide open.

_CLICK, CLICK CLICK CLICK, CLICK CLICK, CLICK_

I closed my eyes, giving off an aggravated sigh. I saw Wee and the few guards running for their life. Probably a smart move…

I turned and looked into the darkness. A flood light came on, slightly blinding me. After my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw I was staring down about thirty SMG barrels.

_Fuck… Me…_

A figure walked into view from the upper balcony. It was a woman. She wore tattered leather biker jacket, cargo jeans and had a mask over her face. Looked like a type of gas mask. She had two guards next to her, one on each side. One was a male, and the other a female. They both wore leather jackets, both similar. The man wore pants while the female wore a short skirt. Both wore similar masks.

_I think I found em…_

"You must be HellCat?" I asked the woman.

The woman pulled out a pistol and fired a shot at me. It hit the ground in front of me. I didn't flinch. I couldn't show fear. I honestly lost the feeling of fear long ago.

"I fucking hate that nickname!" she shouted at me, holstering her gun.

"So what do you want me to call you, then?" I smarted off back to her.

"Have a little respect for our leader. She's been through more than you could imagine." the man shouted to me.

"I'm giving her as little respect as possible." I smarted off, again. The two guards jumped down from the balcony and started walking closer to me.

"It looks like this stray dog wants a fight, dear brother." the female said to the man, pulling out two bladed steal fans.

"Should we oblige him, dear sister?" the man asked, pulling out a razor sharp katana.

_That sounds familiar…_

"Let's." the female replied

The two assassins ran to me in a dead sprint. I sighed to myself and got ready for a fight. They both went for a horizontal slash at my neck. I back-flipped in the same motion as there slash, barely dodging it. They stopped and turned back to face me. I took my katanas out and slowly turned to face them.

I began to laugh, like a madman. It was the rush of a genuine fight that thrilled me. I lived to fight. It's been several years since I fought someone that could hold their own against me. This was going to be fun.

000

WeeMan and the other guards made it back to the base.

"Justyn, James is in the mall. And he's surrounded!" Wee shouted over the radio, clearly out of breath.

"God-fuckin-dammit… I know he can do it, but… dammit! I'm sending reinforcements. Try to hold out till they get there." Justyn shouted back.

000

Steal clashed and sparks flew as the fight went on. Taking on two trained assassins was…FUN! We fought furiously for quite some time. I swiped at the male and would get blocked by the female. She would make a swipe at me, and get blocked by my katana. Too easy…

But during the fight… I began to think… Something was familiar about these two.

_Two assassins… brother and sister… could it be?_

While in my thoughts, she got a lucky strike on me and kneed me in the gut. Winded from the blow and bent over, the man tried to give a quick slice to my head. I jumped back, but the blade caught the hood of my cloak, causing it to rip off. I spun back out of range and regained my footing.

I regained my breath and took my scarf off and put my aviators back in my coat. I took my trench coat off, showing some of my battle armor. My tattoos showed and I heard a few women bandits "oooh" at me.

_Women…_

The two assassins ran at me again. I blocked their strikes precisely. We got into a weapon lock.

"You're good. But no match for us." the man taunted.

I laughed at his remark. "Watch this!" I shouted back at them.

With a flick of my wrist, I got both of their weapons out of their hands. I tossed my swords up and give a back-flip kick to both of their jaws. They flew back and hit the floor hard.

After I regained my footing, I raised my arms and grabbed my swords as they came down. I put them in the sheathes on my back and crossed my arms.

_Hell yeah…_

The two attempted to get up, but the HellCat stopped them. "That's enough you two. My turn." she said, making her way down the spiral stairs from the balcony. I started walking to her, but more bandits stood in between us. I noticed that most of the bandits here… were women… odd.

I stood where I was and watched HellCat make her way to me. She stood on the other side of the bandits. She motioned for them to move and she stood in front of me.

"I figured you would be…taller…" I smarted off.

She responded with a swift smack to my face.

_OUCH!..._

"So, you think you can walk right in here? This is MY territory. No one is allowed in here except us." she shouted to me.

Still rubbing my face, I smarted back off. "I think you need some better locks on your doors. Guys like me don't give two fucks about it."

She grabbed my shoulders and gave me a knee to the stomach. I groaned in pain and coughed, trying to catch my breath. I was on my knee, trying to breath.

"You need to follow the rules. You could stay alive a little longer." She responded to me. "Have you anything to say before your life ends, mercenary?"

"Yeah, I actually do." I replied in a cold voice. I rose into a handstand and kicked her in the chest. She took a few steps back to catch her breath. I casually sprung out of it and stood in front of her. She began throwing fists and feet at me, a little too clumsy.

I felt like I was toying with her… I actually was.

She would go for a punch and I would trip her or bump her out of the way. But for the most part, it was a real fist-fight.

After a few minutes of fists flying, I made a clumsy move. I threw a punch and missed. She grabbed my wrist, pulled my arm and used the momentum to throw me. And boy did she throw me… I flew across the room, hit the wall behind her and landed against the wall, upside-down.

_OKAY! That was too familiar._

"That's our leader!" one woman said.

"You go Kitty!" another shouted.

_Oh fuck me, REALLY!?_

The woman took her mask off and let her hair down. It was Kitty. The former Godmother of SFW. And my good friend.

_I just got my ass kicked AGAIN by her!..._

She walked over to me and pulled me up by the collar of my shirt.

"Any last words?" she said to me.

"Hey Kitty. Long time no see, huh?" I casually replied.

Her expression changed. She gave me a confused look and then her face brightened into a smile.

"James! It's you!" she said hugging me.

After a moment, she released her grip and smacked me across the face, hard.

"Why didn't you say that was you sooner? I could've killed you!" she shouted at me.

"Nice to see you too…" I replied, rubbing my face.

"James?" the male said, removing his mask. The woman did the same.

"Long time no see EJ. Hey Ashley." I shouted back to them. They made their way over to me and we had a quick reunion.

I looked down and noticed a bunch of small red dots on my chest.

"Kitty, am I being targeted?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry. I'll call off the snipers" she replied. She gave a loud whistle and the dots disappeared. The snipers descended from the rafters along the ceiling on their zip lines down to us.

"Wow Kitty, you're pretty organized." I said, impressed. "Are all your bandits female? Besides EJ, of course."

Kitty gave a giggle, "Mayyyybe."

"I haven't heard that in a while." I responded.

All three of them chuckled at me. "But you know I'm here on business?" I said.

"What is it?" Kitty asked.

"You know you've been killing Jutyn's men, right?" I asked.

"I don't know what you've been talking about. But Justyn is still around?" she replied.

"Yeah, he is running LCN."

"Wow. I didn't think he could pull that off."

"Yeah, and everyone else is in there. The old SFM is there. We're just missing you three."

"I'll think about it. But what do you mean about the attacks?" she asked me.

"There have been reports of bandits attacking LCN's guards. No apparent reason."

Kitty looked at EJ and Ashley, puzzled. It seems as though she has no idea about the attacks.

"I haven't sent anyone after him. Very few people come around the mall. Most of the time we scare them off. We don't go out and hunt for his men." She told me.

"It sounds like someone is making it look like we're doing it." Ashley chimed in.

"Yeah, we aren't THAT violent and aggressive." EJ commented.

"Hmm… Well, we could always use you guys in LCN." I said. What do ya say Kitty? EJ? Ashley? How bout it?"

They looked at each other for a moment. They all nodded and agreed.

"It'll be just like old times!" Ashley yelled in excitement.

**[Well, I'll be damned. Kitty does have claws after all. Good to have her and the twins back. What's gonna happen next? Find out in, "The Phoenix Rises"]**


	6. The Phoenix Rises

**Chapter 6**

**The Phoenix Rises**

As we stood around catching up, a group of men busted through the front door. I turned to see who it was. WeeMan and the LCN security team came in, guns drawn at everyone in there. In response, Kitty's bandits aimed their guns at them. I merely shook my head.

_I better stop this quick…_

"Call them off, Kitty." I said to her.

"You know these clowns?" she asked me.

"They're LCN." I replied.

Kitty nodded and whistled loudly. All the bandits lowered their guns.

"WeeMan, call your men off. They're on our side." I shouted to him.

He motioned for the force to lower their guns and they did.

"Report back to Justyn everything is fine. I'll be back to the hideout soon." I said.

Wee shrugged and headed out of the mall. The security force followed close behind him.

"Don't tell me THAT was the security team?" Kitty asked, slightly amused.

"Yeah. And the short one has my old rank." I responded.

Kitty, EJ and Ashley's eyes widened.

"The little guy is the Head of Security?!" Ej asked, astounded by my statement.

I nodded slowly. The twins looked at each other and busted out laughing. I shook my head, and Kitty punched lightly me on the shoulder.

"Looks like the mighty Reaper got replaced by a leprechaun." Kitty said with a goofy smile.

My face contorted, wincing in pain and embarrassment. I buried my face in my hand, shaking my head. They all laughed in good humor at me. EJ patted me on the back.

"Don't worry man. You're still the best." he said to me.

A small grin crept across my face. It was good to be back with more familiar faces.

"Say. Lemme show you around here. We got some cool stuff in here you might want to see." Kitty said to me.

We walked in through some double doors in the back of the mall. It led to a staircase that lead down into, what I assumed, was the basement. Boy, it was one helluva basement alright…

High tech machines were all over the place. Someone was working at each station. Each worker was typing away at a computer or fixing some wires on each thing.

"I think you'll like this" Ashley said to me.

We walked into a large room. It had hard wood floors with mats here and there. Punching bags were in one area, treadmills in another and other workout equipment dotted the room. There was a big square mat in the center on a higher platform. This was the dojo. My eyes… I mean, EYE… lit up as I looked around at the state of the art equipment.

As I was looking around, I heard a few women scream. Turning around, I turned to see a couple girls in bath towels run into a room. I turned around and covered my eyes. Kitty and Ashley snickered at me.

"Shower room?" I asked.

"No that's actually the locker room. Those two are the sluts of my family. And I think they like women too…" Kitty said.

"Sounds like Emma, Arlene and Emily Diamond rolled up into one…" I replied, looking over my shoulder.

000

"Damn Kitty… This is impressive" I said to her after the tour.

"Thanks!" she replied with a big smile on her face. "We can always use you in here. EJ hates being one of the few men in here." Kitty responded, giggling. EJ shook his head. Ashley punched him playfully on the arm.

"Thanks for the offer… but I do have my loyalties set to LCN at the moment. Besides, Justyn said he may make me the new Head of Security if I stayed." I responded.

"You think they'll let us back in?" Ashley asked, jumping up.

"Whoa Ash, not so fast." Kitty said, holding her arm up. "We're just fine in here. We have a strong enough team. We have weapons and equipment." Kitty said to the twins.

"But Kitty! It'll be just like old times. Let's join with them." Ashley pleaded.

"It'll make us all stronger. If we join forces, we can take down the Government. Rise up to be as it was five years ago." EJ chimed in.

Kitty put her hand on her chin, thinking. She paced back and forth for a moment.

"Let's see this place Justyn has. We'll consider it." she replied.

"Good. But one warning." I replied. Wear a gas mask. It's in the sewers.

"Aw come on!..." Ashley whined, her head drooping down.

000

"Ugh… I think I'm gonna hurl…" EJ gagged. We made it to the entrance of the hideout and went inside.

"We're good now." I said, removing my scarf from my face. Kitty, Ashley and EJ took their masks off. They looked around the place, not too impressed.

"I'm just surprised he's managed to stay around this long, let alone everyone else in here." Kitty said to me.

I walked them into the main room. Justyn was sitting at his desk, looking through some papers.

"Oy, shorty!" I shouted to him.

"Aw fuck off with the short shit. What the fuck is it?" Justyn shouted, looking up at us. "Who the fuck are they?"

"Wow Mario. I thought you would welcome us back a little more warmly." Kitty said in a smart-ass tone.

"Wait… Kitty? Is that you?" Justyn asked.

"The one and only. Not to mention, the twins." I responded.

"Holy fuckin' fuck! It is yous guys!" Justyn shouted.

The old fam came over to great the former Godmother of SFM and the twins. The old family was back together for the first time in five years.

000

"So… you weren't the ones attacking us?" Mikey asked.

"No, we have mostly females. We only have a few men, including EJ. I keep a close check on my family." Kitty replied.

"Then who the fuck is doing the attacking?" Don asked us all.

"Whoever they are, they know who to attack." I chimed in.

"And we didn't even know you guys were still around, honestly." Ashley replied.

We sat around, chatting amongst each other for quite some time. Catching up, reliving old memories, remembering funny stories that happened to us.

_Good times…_

000

"So… do we have an agreement?" Justyn asked Kitty.

"Sure. We'll join as long as we get equal say so in matters." she replied.

"Yay!" Ashley exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"We'll combine resources and build our power back up." Don said. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Indeed." I replied.

"So… we still gonna be LCN? Or is SFM making a triumphant return?" Mikey asked.

"I like the old name better…" Amy chimed in.

"I agree." EJ replied.

"Aw fuck off!..." Justyn shouted.

"Need a corner shorty?" Kitty responded.

"SHUT UUUPPPPP!" Justyn shouted back.

**[Looks like the old SFM is back and in power. Will they stick together or will there be a falling out? Find out what happens next in, The Real Bandits]**


	7. The Real Bandits

**Chapter 7**

**The Real Bandits**

"Oh wow, Justyn. Who are all these people?" Can you stop bringing all these random women in here?" an annoyed female voice came from behind Kitty.

"Quite the pimp are ya, shorty?" Kitty said to Justyn. He grumbled something in Italian and fixed his fedora back on straight.

He pushed past us and walked to the woman. I turned to her. She was Asian. She had on a black, skin-tight dress that was probably cut a little too high showing off her legs and a little too revealing up top…

_If ya know what I mean_…

She had long dark hair, and tall… well, taller than Justyn, anyway.

"Aw come'on! These are old friends." Justyn said walking up to the woman. She gave off a confused look to the crowd.

"ALL of them?" she asked, looking back to him. Justyn grumbled again and I busted out laughing.

"Oh great, now you're bringing in strange men too?!" she shouted. I hit the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

"FUCK! Really?!" Justyn grumbled. "James, Kitty! Get over here…"

Me and Kitty shrugged at each other and made our way over to him. The woman had her arms crossed and tapping her foot, in her high heels, against the ground.

"This is Victoria, the Godmother of LCN." Justyn said to us, holding his head down.

"Damn dude. Ya sound sorta reluctant to say that." I chuckled. He gave me a mean look. Victoria on the other hand, seemed rather intrigued. She was giving me a weird look. I did have my cloak removed, showing off my tattoos and muscles…

_I know that look she's giving me… It can only mean trouble…_

"Sorry miss. I'm James Marx, former 'Head of Security' for SFM. It's an honor to meet you" I said to her, stretching out my hand.

"Wow, it's nice to finally meet the feared Reaper of SFM and The Wanted Outlaws. The honor is mine, sir." she replied in a seductive tone, gripping my hand and shaking it.

_Oh God… Please don't let this be another "Emma"…_

"I'm Kitty Johnson, former Godmother of SFM." Kitty said, holding out her hand as well.

Victoria gave her a very weak handshake, "Yes, I'm sure."

Kitty gave her that, "really bitch", look. She looked over to me. I just shrugged.

"Okay!" said clapping his hands once. "How about we talk about those bandits, huh?"

"Yes Justyn. Did you get rid of them like you said?" Victoria asked him.

"Yeah… about that…" Justyn replied.

"You didn't get rid of them!?" Victoria exclaimed.

"Not exactly…" Justyn tried to explain.

"I went after the location they were at. It wasn't them. It's a different group attacking you guys." I stepped in.

_Figure I should help him out…_

"The wrong ones?" Victoria asked me.

"Yes ma'am. The bandits attacking LCN are male. The ones I found were all female." I replied.

"Oh… well, did you deal with them?"

"They are on our side now."

Victoria gave me a confused look. "They are on our side?"

"Yes. You're speaking to the leader of them now." Kitty stepped in. "Justyn, as you may know, was Don's consigliore. I was the Godmother after a woman named Miuki. James, Justyn and everyone else in the higher ranks here are old friends."

"And we have brought back the old SFM back. They are all coming back in… well, except Kitty. She has her family of bandits to take care of." I replied. Kitty nodded back to me and chuckled.

Victoria gave Justyn an angry look. "And you didn't tell me this? Or involve me in any way? Just doing shit behind my back as usual…" she exclaimed.

"Aw come on V. These are my old pals. We'll be fifteen times stronger now. We got bandits on our side and the best fighter in SFM with us." Justyn tried to reason.

"Hmph… we'll see." Victoria said softly. "Nice meeting you Reaper. Hope to see you again." she said in that seductive tone. She put her hand on her hip and strutted away.

I leaned over and whispered to Kitty, "Makes you wonder who REALLY runs LCN, huh?" She chuckled and nodded.

000

The next day, everyone was hanging around the hideout. Justyn and Don were filing through some papers. Hulio was in a trance watching the security monitors and munching on some food. Mikey and Amy were in the infirmary caring for some injured soldiers. Kitty and I were in the training area, setting up new equipment from her hideout in the mall. EJ and Ashley were training some soldiers from Justyn's fam and some from Kitty's as well.

"These will be some nice new additions, huh?" Kitty asked me.

"Yeah, really. This is a lot better than what was in here before. Justyn may keep himself hidden for a while, but he picks some shitty-ass places." I replied. Kitty laughed at me.

As I was setting up a few punching bags, Kitty taps my shoulder.

"Remember what happened last time we sparred?" she asked me with a goofy smile on her face. I grumbled at her question and she burst into laughter.

"That's the ONLY move you can land on me, woman." I replied, finishing the setup.

"And it still works to this day!" she retorted, laughing more.

"She got you there, bro." EJ said, walking over to us.

I gave Kitty a death glare.

"Oooo, Reaper so scarrrry." Kitty taunted, backing away.

"You wanna go, girly?" I asked, readying myself for a fight. A small crowd had begun to form around us.

"Want to get thrown again?" she replied, readying herself as well.

We ran at each other, but were suddenly stopped by an explosion. We lost our balance and fell.

"What the fuck was that?" Kitty asked, rubbing her back.

"I don't know. Let's go check on the rest." I shouted.

We go up and ran up to the main area. Some pillars were down and equipment shattered. It looked as though no real damage or injuries.

"Looks like we got our culprits right here." Hulio shouted, pointing to a monitor.

I ran over to see what it was. A group of men were running away from a crater that a monitor overlooked. It was right outside the entrance. Justyn ran over and saw the same thing I was seeing.

"Those are the fucks attacking us. James, get them!" Justyn shouted. I nodded and ran to the secret entrance, hoping to get a surprise attack on them. EJ followed close behind me. We made it out and saw the group still standing around. There were four guys, all armed with melee weapons: axes; swords; knives; the usual shit. I holstered my pistol and unsheathed one of my swords. EJ did the same.

"Hey fuckers!" I shouted. They all turned and looked towards me. One guy stood out from the rest. He didn't have a scarf or goggles covering his face, like the others; only a pair of sunglasses. He had on tight leather pants. No shirt, but leather belts and straps crossed his chest

"You must be the leader or this sad little group?" I asked.

The man stepped forward. He spoke in an interesting tone of voice. I figured he must not care much for women…

"Yes, that would be me. I am TC, leader of Leather Angels!" he shouted.

"You guys look like the farthest things from angels if you ask me." EJ retorted. I chuckled at the remark.

"You and all of LCN with perish!" TC shouted back at us.

"Believe us, we're perishing by looking at you." I responded.

TC tore his glasses off his face in a rage. "You're Reaper!"

"Wow… I surprised someone recognized me with the eye patch…"

"You killed Emma!"

"Oh, you know her too? Did she fuck you or something? Give ya every STD in the book plus those not discovered?" I smarted off.

"Boys! Finish them!" TC shouted to the three remaining men. He stormed away to a car and took off out of here.

"He sounds sensitive…" EJ said quietly to me. I tried to hold my laughter back.

"Let's take care of these little punks first. Jokes later, alright?" I said. EJ nodded and we ran to the three guys. I drew my other sword and took on two at once. EJ got the last one.

The two were no match. After blocking several of their horribly timed strikes, I knocked their weapons out of their hands. Distracted from their weapons gone, I made one smooth motion and cut their heads clean off.

EJ played with the other guy for a while. He knocked his weapon out of his hands as well. EJ spun around and stabbed the guy in the gut. He retracted the sword, spun back around and sliced his throat. The man fell over in a bleeding, lifeless heap.

We cleaned our swords and sheathed them. Making our way back, EJ patted me on the shoulder.

"Just like old time, huh?" he asked.

"Yep, sure is." I replied.

000

"So those responsible for the attacks are the Leather Angels?" Justyn asked us. EJ and I nodded.

"You know them?" I asked.

"A guy named TC runs the gang. He's obsessed over Emma's death." Justyn replied.

"We noticed." EJ remarked. I chuckled.

"All we know is he was one of her close friends and he blames you and Kitty for killing her. That may explain why he was trying to frame Kitty for the attacks." Justyn said, rubbing his chin. "We've had several run-ins with him before. Joined LCN few years back and tried to steal all the members. We kicked his ass out quick."

"Does Victoria know about him?" I asked.

"Not that I know of… I don't think she does. We'll fill her in at the next meeting." Justyn replied.

000

"So… they know?" a female voice asked.

"Yes. They know it's us." TC said back.

"Hmmm… attack them harder. Be more relentless. Justyn and his family must be stopped." The female demanded.

"But Lady Moon... Reaper has surfaced. I just want him and Kitty. You can worry about Justyn. They killed my Emma!" TC shouted.

"I could care less about who you personally want. We made a deal to frame Kitty to get him to kill her. While he was out, we kill him. Simple as that." the woman said. "You're letting your emotions get the better of you."

"Fuck you Moon! You have your connections and your power, you kill Justyn. My priorities are Kitty and Reaper. I will make them pay!" TC yelled in anger. "You want Justyn, you get him. I'm through with your pointlessness!"

TC turned and stormed out of the dark room with some of his guards behind him. The mysterious woman sat in her seat, legs crossed. She began to laugh softly, but the further TC got from her, the louder she laughed. When he left the room and slammed the door shut, she was cackling like a witch.

**[Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait and short chapter. Writer's block has been a bitch and finals were hell. And to anyone reading this, please do not feel offended. TC is inspired by someone I know who is homosexual. I am not bashing homosexuality in any way. With that being said… Looks like LCN finally found out who was behind those attacks. Victoria seems like a bit of a demanding Godmother, huh? And who is this mysterious Lady Moon? All in good time friends. Find out what happens in the next chapter, "Friends Never Forget"]**


	8. Friends Never Forget

**Chapter 8**

**Friends Never Forget**

A lone figure entered the dark throne room. He walked to a woman sitting in an ornate chair and bowed to her.

"Lady Moon. Preparations are ready for attack. The military is ready and armed. Just give us the word."

Moon leaned forward, coming into the light.

"Hold off for the moment. I have something special planned for LCN." she replied.

"What would that be, my Lady?" the man asked.

"I have my sights set on that bounty hunter first." Moon replied. "Where did he come from? What is his full story?"

"Oh, James Marx was the Head of Security for SFM. He received the codename 'Reaper' because he always wielded a scythe. He helped the Godmother, Kitty, and Godfather, Don, fight off Jedi and his… 'partner'… Wings."

Moon leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. She brought her fingers to her lips and listened carefully.

"He was injured almost a year later by an enemy he made. His name was Hawk. He cut James' left eye, hence the eye patch. Of course, James killed him after he recovered. He helped again in the assault against the family, RMKQ. The leader was a man named Craig, James' former partner in The Wanted Outlaws. He betrayed James and the other member, Doc. He was James' close friend."

"Is this 'Doc' still around?" Moon asked.

"No one knows. He became a bounty hunter again after the great war, but no one has heard from him since." the man said.

"Find him." Moon said in a dark tone. "We'll use him to lure out Reaper. Then we can get Justyn and his counselor, Don."

"Yes ma'am." the man said. He bowed, turned and rushed out of the throne room.

000

"Get him, Kitty! Throw him again!" a female bandit shouted.

"Come on James! It's just a girl!" an LCN recruit yelled back.

Me and Kitty found ourselves sparring again. While we were fighting, the soldiers were making side bets. Not on who will win, but on how long it would take Kitty to throw me across the room again. This shit was getting old.

"James! Throw her instead!" Justyn shouted over the commotion.

"Looks like he may have met his match." EJ said to his sister, Ashley. She replied with a giggle and they all continued to watch.

Kitty and I went at as if we were enemies meeting on the battlefield. We threw everything we had at each other. I made sure not to throw any high and clumsy punches or kicks. I knew Kitty would grab me and send me flying.

He threw a flurry of blows at each other. We got faster as time went on. But I let my confidence get the better of me and I threw I high punch to her head. She ducked and grabbed my wrist.

_Oh fuck, not again…_

Kitty started to lift me up and toss me, but I reacted quickly. I grabbed onto her arm tight. As she let go to complete the throw I merely fell to the ground in front of her. I wrapped my ankles around her neck and flipped her over me.

"OH SHIT, HE GOT HER!" Justyn shouted.

Kitty flew a short distance before landing on her back a few feet from me. I did a quick handspring up, Kitty did the same. She looked at me; I shrugged back to her and grinned. She smiled as well.

There were groans in the audience as the recruits took the bandits money. I walked over to Kitty and put my arm on her shoulder.

"No hard feelings?" I joked.

"No hard feelings" Kitty replied, giving me and evil smirk.

I tried pulling my arm away from her but she grabbed my wrist and tossed me across the dojo. I hit the wall with a loud thud and landed on my shoulders, sitting upside down, again.

_Fuck, dammit! She did it AGAIN!..._

Kitty began laughing loudly, as did EJ and Ashley.

There was clapping heard from the entrance and a guy stepped in. He was wearing battle armor and had a cowboy hat on.

"Damn bro. Still not a hit with women?" he joked.

"Doc! What are you doing here?" I asked.

Kitty helped me back up and we walked over to him.

"Hey Doc, long time no see." Kitty said.

"Nice to see you again, miss Kitty." Doc said, tipping his hat.

"What brings you here bro?" I asked.

"I brought you a present" Doc replied.

We walked into the main area and saw a group of bandits tied up, and TC was with them.

"How in the fuck did you get them?" Kitty asked.

"This group dropped by Nuke's Bar. I overheard them talking about how they were gonna kill you and Kitty. So I took it upon myself to send them to you tied up."

"You got these five guys buy yourself?" I asked.

"Well, I had some help. Made some friends that are bounty hunters as well. They pitched in." Doc explained.

"Aye, Doc! How'ya doin bud?" Justyn said.

"Sup shorty." Doc replied.

Me and Kitty tried to keep our laughter to ourselves.

"Ah, fuck off!" Justyn turned and walked away, muttering something in Italian.

"Still the smartass I know." I chuckled, lightly punching Doc in the shoulder.

"You know it, bud." Doc said.

000

"_Lady Moon. We have found Doc."_

"_Excellent. Where is he?"_

"_He's taken up residence in Nuke's bar. He captured TC and his group is in custody of LCN."_

"_Hahaha… I knew that fool wouldn't last long on his own. Let him rot in LCN"_

"_What about Doc and Reaper?"_

"_The next part of my plan is about to come into play. Stay ready for phase two."_

"_Yes ma'am!"_

000

"So, what happened after the war?" Doc asked me.

"We all split up, thinking it would be harder for the government to track us all down." I replied, sitting down a shot glass that was full of whiskey.

"Damn… Everybody did their own thing, huh?" Doc said.

"Yeah. I went back to bounty hunting. Most of SFM came back to Justyn and Don. Kitty and the twins stuck together and ran a bandit family." I replied.

"Kitty always seemed like a tough one." Doc said, chuckling.

I gave off a nervous laugh, "Hell hath no fury…"

Doc and I laughed together. We sat around, talking about what all we had been up to since the war.

"Ah, James. Just the man I was looking for." a female voice came from right behind me. I turned to see Victoria, wearing another skin-tight and revealing dress.

"Oh, you must be Doc? Of The Wanted Outlaws?" Victoria asked, looking to Doc.

"Yes ma'am that's me." Doc said, stretching his hand out to shake hers.

"I've heard so much about you both. It's an honor to be here in your presence." she said, acting like a crazy fan-girl.

"Well, thank you ma'am." Doc replied. Victoria smiled and giggled.

"What can I do for you miss?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Well, I was wondering if you could drop by my house tonight. I have some boxes I need moved and I can't lift them by myself." Victoria explained.

"Uh, yeah sure. I'll be there." I replied, hesitantly. Victoria smiled

"Awesome! Be there at 8:30. I'll be waiting." she said. She lightly bit her lip and walked away, smiling.

I sat where I was for a moment, thinking.

"Go get her, tiger!" Doc said, punching me on the shoulder.

"Ah, fuck off. I'm just going to go help her move in some shit." I replied.

"Uh-huh, that means, hey I wanna fuck your brains out!" Doc said, laughing.

"Ah, shut up ya crazy-ass redneck." I said, punching Doc in the arm. We both laughed and took another shot of whiskey.

000

I rode into The Hub where Victoria's apartment was located. It was in the fancier part of town. Bunch of snot-nosed brats and snobs lived here. I thought she would fit in nicely.

I walked inside the complex and made my way up to the second floor. Hers was apartment 2D, it wasn't too hard to find.

I knocked on the door and waited patiently.

"Who is it?" Victoria's voice came from behind the door.

"It's James." I replied.

"Oh, just a second." she said.

I heard her quickly walk to the door. She opened the door and the first thing I saw was her in a fuckin' bath robe. It was one of those short ones, with her right leg completely uncovered by the robe. It wasn't tied too tight because it was quite revealing up too.

_What am I getting myself into?.._

"Hey James. Come on in." Victoria said in a seductive tone, stepping out of the doorway.

"Thank you ma'am. I said walking in, trying hard not to blush at the sight of her.

She led me to the living room area. There were some boxes piled up in the corner.

"I was just about to get a shower. If you give me a few minutes, I'll be right out to help you." she said to me.

I nodded, holding back a goofy grin.

"Don't you go anywhere, now." she said again, biting her lip and looking down at my waist area. She turned and walked to her room, I presumed. Right as she got to the doorway, she undid her robe. Her back was still to me, so I couldn't see anything.

_Dammit…_

As she disappeared from view, I saw the robe fly across the doorway and heard another door close.

I took my time to look around; something just didn't feel right about this situation. As I looked around, I could hear her singing from the shower. She had a lovely voice, almost mesmerizing. But I couldn't let it distract me, nor the fact I was in a hot girl's apartment while she was taking a shower in the next room.

I looked in her kitchen and saw her purse. I looked over my shoulder a moment and went for it. I looked inside and caught a glimpse of her wallet.

_Bingo!..._

I searched inside and saw her driver's license, some cash and a few credit cards. Nothing unusual. I saw a hidden zipper inside it. I unzipped it and found another card in it.

_Victoria Thomas… 5'4… age 25… 2__nd__ Lieutenant in New US Government… Wait, WHAT!?_

The card I found was a ID card issued to New US Government staff and officers. She was a Government agent, and she's been LCN's Godmother.

_Sneaky, sneaky bitch…_

About this time, I heard the water from the shower turn off. I quickly stuffed her shit back into her purse and run over to the boxes, pretending to do something. I heard the door open behind me and she stepped out.

"Oh James." Victoria said in a seductive voice.

_God, I feel like I'm in a porno… please have clothes on… please have clothes on…_

I turned to see her wearing a bath towel wrapped around her, and that was all she had on.

_Oh dear God in heaven…_

"You seem so tense, baby. Why don't we move the boxes later. You could use a massage." she said to me walking dangerously close.

I started backing away. I wasn't gonna fight a Government agent on her own territory. Besides, if I stayed here any longer, I was risking getting blind-sided by an assassin or HER…

"Um, listen V… I uh… just remembered that I need to, uhm…." I couldn't spit it out, I was dumbfounded.

"Don't worry about a thing, James. Let me take care of you." Victoria replied, starting to undo her towel.

"Uh… Window, I need air!" I shouted. I turned and ran for her window. I kicked up a stool and knocked it through and jumped out the second story window.

I hit the ground hard, luckily there some bushes the help cushion the fall.

_OW! FUCK!_

Never mind, I landed in the only rose bush in the garden below…

I made my way back to the parking lot quick, got back on my bike and headed back to the clubhouse.

_Oh Justyn is gonna love this shit…_

**[Oh boy, things almost got a little steamy, huh? Well, looks like Miss Victoria is in for some trouble back at LCN HQ. What's gonna happen Next? Will Victoria get wind that James is onto her? Will he get stopped from telling? Or is there more to this than meets the eye? I don't know… hehehe… Find out what happens in the next chapter, "Some Enemies Never Die"]**


	9. Some Enemies Never Die

**Chapter 9**

**Some Enemies Never Die**

I walked back into the hideout, pale as a ghost and covered in cuts from the damn rose bush. I tried to make it to my locker in the dojo without Justyn seeing me, but I ran into him as soon as I walked in.

"Hey champ! How did your special evening with Victoria? Get some action?" Justyn asked in a very hyped tone.

"Oh there was plenty…" I replied, trying to walk away.

Justyn stepped in front of me and kept asking questions. "Any kinky shit?"

"No Justyn!" I shouted.

"I think there was some BDSM by the look of the cuts on your arm." he said, looking at my arms.

"No! I jumped out of the window and landed in a rose bush." I quickly tried to explain.

"Oh, you did some role-play, huh?" Justyn kept on talking.

"Shut the fuck up Justyn, I ran for my life." I said, trying to walk away again.

"Why the fuck did you run? She get some whip and cuffs out?" he asked.

"No, she…"

"Are you gay, James?"

"No! She is…"

"She is a shemale?"

"NO! SHE'S A FUCKING SPY!" I shouted. I quickly covered my mouth and looked around to see who was around, thankfully no one important.

"She what!?" Justyn shouted.

"Yes. I looked through her purse and saw a New US Government ID card in a hidden slot. She's high ranking, a 2nd Lieutenant." I explained. "She has got to be the reason you've been getting all the supplies, weapons and soldiers for LCN. She's probably behind the attacks to Kitty."

"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! Really!?" Justyn shouted. He began pacing back and forth shouting in Italian.

"What do we do now!?" Justyn asked.

"Have Hulio look up her background. I want to see who we are dealing with." I said.

000

A group of women sat in a circle around a table. Each sat in an elegant throne. There were four seats, but one was empty.

One woman was middle aged, about in her mid-thirties. She had short black hair and had a black widow tattooed on her neck. She wore dark black makeup all over her face, obviously an extreme Goth.

Another girl sat in a throne. She seemed to be very young, late teens at most. She had long blood red hair and was swaying back and forth, humming a tune while chewing some gum very loudly.

The last one was in between the other two. She looked to in her late twenties, long blonde hair and had tattoos and piercings all over her. She sat slumped in her chair with one hand on her cheek.

In walked in Lady Moon after a short time. She quickly took her seat, breathing heavily.

"Ladies, it's time to go to war against LCN. I fear our secret group will no longer stay that way unless we wipe them out." Moon said in an angry voice.

"Does this mean we get to go kill that shorty?" the red-headed girl shouted. She sounded like a stereotypical blonde. She was playing with her hair while she sat there.

"Yes my dear Lady June. All in good time. We must finish preparations." Moon replied.

"Who is the main threat? Justyn doesn't seem like a challenge worthy of my talents." the black-haired woman asked.

"I think you would have a fun time fighting the 'Reaper', Lady Psych." Moon said.

The dark haired woman leaned back in her chair and started playing with a knife, twirling it around her fingers.

"What about that bitch, Kitty?" June asked.

"No need to worry about her. I think Moon wants her personally." the blonde said.

"Correct, Lady Karma. Kitty is mine." Moon replied, clenching her fist.

"But Moon, I don't want left-overs!" June began to complain, pouting.

"You can have their techie, Hulio." Psych said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh yeah. He's kinda hot…" June said, twirling her hair through her fingers and looking off into space.

"I don't care who you target, just leave Kitty for me." Moon said, standing up and putting her hands on the table. "Stay away from her."

"I think Psych will have her hands full of Reaper." Karma said, grinning.

An evil smirk krept across the emotionless face of Lady Psych. "In more ways than one, dear sister." she replied, grimly.

000

"Find anything buddy?" I asked Hulio, peering over his shoulder at the computer screen.

"Almost. Just a few more clicks and I'll have everything we need to know about her." Hulio replied. I patted him on the shoulder and walked over to Justyn.

"You were never THAT good at making decisions, Justyn." Kitty said.

"Ah, shut the fuck up. I'm just pissed. We gotta get rid of her." Justyn shouted.

"How? Do we wait until she walks through the door?" I jokingly asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Holy shit, I got something guys!" Hulio shouted.

I ran over and looked the screen. It showed her parent's names.

"Father was Jeff Sanderson and mother was Bianca Thomas. So what?" I said.

Hulio clicked on the names and it revealed their ID photos. My eyes widened at the sight of who they were. The father was our old nemesis, Jedi. Her mother was the bat-shit insane Wings, Jedi's she-devil.

"What the fuck!? Kitty, Justyn! Come here!" I shouted, motioning them to come here. They ran over and their jaws hit the ground.

"Are you fucking serious? I get a Godmother and it's the spawn of THAT crazy bitch?" Justyn exclaimed.

"I didn't know 'it' could lay eggs…" Kitty said softly.

"We have to get rid of Victoria, now." Hulio said.

"Too late, boy." a voice came from the doorway. Victoria stood there with about a dozen of LCN's soldiers behind her, pointing guns at us.

Kitty gave a loud whistle and several of her bandits, including EJ and Ashley came up behind us and drew their guns at Victoria.

"What is the point of all this? Glory? Money? Some kind of revenge?" I asked. Victoria slowly raised her hand and pointed to Kitty.

"You killed my mother. You tortured her and murdered her in cold blood!" Victoria shouted to Kitty.

"Your insane father killed her. And as far as the torturing, what the fuck are you on? She tortured us and put us through so much." Kitty said back. "She made us believe our Godmother was dead, put Mikey in a coma. She took James' men left and right."

"LIES! LIES! You killed her, Kitty! You will pay for what you did to her!" Victoria shouted.

"Over our dead bodies." EJ said. Me, EJ and Ashley stepped out in front of everyone.

"That can be arranged." Victoria said, darkly. "But it will have to be another day. I have an appointment."

"Where? Gonna try to fuck another random guy?" Kitty taunted. I snickered at her remark.

"How dare you insult the great Lady Moon!" a soldier shouted.

"Lady Moon, huh?" I asked. "So you're the crazy bitch that's been taking my bounties?"

Victoria gave a sinister laugh. "I never get my hands that dirty, Reaper. You may have met my three sisters."

"Yeah, I met them all: the dumb bitch with the pink baseball bat; the blonde with the belt-fed machine gun; and the dark one the two katanas." I replied.

"So you know them?" Moon asked again.

"Yeah, it was easy to tell. They would always yell, 'For Moon!' when they got the bounty. I thought it was rather fucking annoying." I said. "The red-head got a little too into it doing her little spin and peace sign."

Moon clenched her fist and her face turned red.

"We will meet again. This is far from over." Moon said. She began backing away slowly.

"Oh we know. This only the beginning, you will never get away with this, blah blah blah… Ah fuck off psycho bitch!" Kitty mocked.

Moon glared back at us all and slowly backed up out of the hideout. We made sure to give her an armed escort off the premises.

000

"Like, oh my gawd! I just broke a nail!" June shouted, looking at her hand.

"Can it, princess." Psych coldly said, playing with her knife. Karma snickered at the two.

Moon stormed through the door of the throne room with her royal guard. June quickly jumped up from Moon's throne and stood up straight, filing her nails and chewing some gum. Psych made no effort to move from her own seat. Karma was just polishing her machine gun.

"Sisters! It's time for war! LCN has extended their existence too long. They must be wiped out!" Moon shouted, taking her seat at the main throne.

"Yay! Killing time!" June shouted, jumping up and down.

"Settle down, sister. We must plan for attack." Karma said. June started pouting and groaning and finally took her seat.

"When will we be ready, Moon?" Psych asked.

"Soon my sister. VERY soon…" Moon replied, leaning back in her seat. She brought her hands up to her lips and laughed silently to herself.


	10. An Old Flame and a New Enemy

**[Hey guys. Sorry it has taken so long, writer's block has been a pain. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.]**

**Chapter 10**

**An Old Flame and a New Enemy**

I sat on the watchtower of the hideout. I sat in a chair, leaned back with my heels along the rail. A cigarette hung loosely from my lips and I puffed slowly, enjoying the quiet.

It had been about a week since we threw Victoria or "Moon" out of LCN. Since then, we had been beefing up our defenses and focusing on training the soldiers. It's a good thing we combined with Kitty and her bandits, we're a lot stronger.

"Hey dude." a voice came from behind me. I slightly jumped out of my seat and turned to see who it was. Mikey had walked up to check on me.

"Oh hey man." I replied.

"You asleep up here?" Mikey asked, pulling out a cigarette of his own and lighting it.

"Uh, I don't know. How long have I been up here?" I asked.

"About an hour, I think." Mikey replied.

"Ah shit…" I said, leaning up in my seat. Mikey began to laugh as I stood up.

"I'll meet ya back down inside." I said, patting Mikey on the back and walking down the spiral staircase back to the main area.

000

Psych was on a high platform overlooking The Hub, She was twirling a knife around her fingers, looking off towards the direction of LCN.

"Psych?" Moon asked, walking into her room.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Psych coldly asked, not even looking over her shoulder. Moon made her way across the room and stood next to her.

"Well, Reaper is just the man you said he would. He is chivalrous… handsome… and so daring…" Moon began to slowly ramble.

"Yes…" Psych said, agitation in her voice.

"And those tattoos are so sexy…" Moon continued.

"I know…" Psych lowly growled.

"I bet he is amazing in bed." Moon slightly moaned.

"ENOUGH!" Psych screamed, gripping her knife tightly, but she accidently grabbed the blade and it dug into her skin. Blood slowly ran down her palm.

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?" Moon asked in a dark tone.

Psych turned and walked away, back into her room. She grabbed a linen cloth and wrapped in around her hand.

"You never answered me, sister." Moon questioned again, leaning against the doorframe of the balcony.

"Leave my room, Victoria." Psych demanded.

"Do not use that tone with me, Saleena." Moon said. She turned and walked out of the room.

Psych kept her back turned to Moon as she exited. She opened her drawer and lifted a hidden panel. Inside was a picture of a young boy holding a girl on his shoulders. They were both wearing a type of army uniform and looked to be about the same age, mid-teens.

Psych stared at the photo and a tear rolled down her cheek. She turned it around and there was writing on the back of it.

**Always and forever.**

**James & Saleena**

**2005**

Saleena held the photo tight against her for a moment. She then wiped the tears from her eyes and slid it back into the drawer, under the panel.

000

"Hey James. I'm building a new weapon for you." Hulio said to me.

"Well, thanks man…but I already have two great swords and a pistol that kicks ass." I replied, chuckling.

"I know, but these are going to be killer. I've been wanting to test out my weapon smith skills. I'm working on a prototype katana and revolver." Hulio explained, somewhat excited.

"Sounds pretty good. Let me know when they are finished." I said. He nodded and ran back off to the workshop.

"He seems pretty happy about that." Kitty said to me. I chuckled and nodded.

000

"Um, Psych. You don't seem, like, focused at all." June said, chewing on some gum.

"I'm fine sister. I just need to vent a little." Psych coldly replied.

"Well, then. Why don't we totally go after some LCN patrols? Like, weaken their numbers." June asked.

Psych tried to clear her thoughts. Looking at the photo seemed only to bring back some of the pain.

She abruptly stood up, picked up her swords and walked for the door.

"Fine. Let's go." Psych said.

"Yay! We're gonna totally kill some people!" June shouted, skipping to the door.

000

I took a walk outside the perimeter of the hideout. I watched for any kind of patrol by the Government and looked to see if I could pick off any raider caravan for supplies. Sadly, I didn't have any luck.

I had my hands in the pockets of my trench coat as I walked around. I felt a small zipper inside one of the pockets. I fiddled with it until it came loose. I stuck my hand inside and felt a piece of paper. I gently pulled it out and examined it.

_I'll be damned…_

I saw it was a photo. It was me, when I was about fifteen. I held a girl on top of my shoulders. It was the love of my life. A young girl by the name of Saleena Scott, codename Psych. She was a wild one, but very misunderstood. Everyone called her "The S. S. Psych" because she was a shipwreck.

She got bullied a lot back at the nest. I seemed to be the only one who cared about her well-being. We got to know each other, went on several missions and stuff. We finally fell in love.

This picture was one of our first together. I turned the back and saw her handwriting.

**Always and forever**

**James & Saleena**

**2005**

I lost track of her after Craig's betrayal. He turned the whole agency against me and Doc, so I dared not go back to try to get her. I figured he turned her against me as well. Even if he didn't, it would've been a death trap to get to her. I was a coward and I lost the love I never thought I'd find.

As I began to put the photo back in my pocket, I heard a set of footsteps running up behind me. I turned to see a figure jumping in the air, holding a giant but slender club over its head. I flipped out of the way just as the club came down. Dust and dirt from the barren ground flew everywhere.

"Aw, I missed." the figure complained in a whiney, high-pitched voice.

"Lady June, I presume?" I asked.

The girl stood up and laid the club across her shoulders, chewing bubble gum.

"Yep, that's me. And you've been a BAD boy Mr. Reaper." she replied, blowing a bubble and popping it.

"Well. I wasn't looking for a workout, but you'll do." I said, pulling out my two katanas.

"Stay away from him June. He's mine." a voice came from behind me. I turned to see a female silhouette, holding two katans similar to mine. She began walking towards me, and the whole time I couldn't help but think her voice was familiar.

"We meet once again, James." the woman said. She came to a stop about five feet from me, still holding her swords.

"Have we met?" I asked.

"After all these years, and you still have forgotten about me." she snarled at me.

I looked at her face, and a feeling came over me. I saw the tattoo on her neck and my heart sank.

"The black widow… It's you… Saleena?" I slowly asked, feeling my heart race and my stomach turn.

"It's been fifteen years since we last spoke. And what were those last words, James?" she asked me.

I swallowed hard and muttered, "I'll be back. I love you."

"But you never came back!" Saleena shouted at me.

She rushed me, spinning her swords. I blocked the first strike and managed to get her away. She came at me again. She threw swing after swing at me, all of them were aimed perfectly. I managed to block them all.

Saleena gave an over-head swing to me, but I dodged it. She swiped to her side, trying to counter me. I held my sword up and our blades clashed. She looked me dead in the eye.

"Why didn't you come back?! she shouted.

"I was…afraid." I hesitantly replied.

"Afraid of what?" she yelled.

" I was afraid Craig turned you against me and you would've tried to kill me, like the rest of the agency." I shouted back.

"Did you really think I believed his bullshit!? I knew you weren't like that!" Saleena yelled back.

We released from our weapon lock and began clashing again. We threw sings and strikes at each other in a flurry.

"James! What's going on? Is there an earthquake?" Mikey shouted to me, running over to us. "Holy shit! You ok?"

"He's a little busy right now. But I can play with you." June said, turning to Mikey.

"I thought you said she had a pink baseball bat!" Mikey yelled to me.

"I may have under-stated that bit!" I yelled over my shoulder.

June rushed Mikey, swinging wildly, but accurately. Luckily Mikey had on his gauntlets and brass knuckles so he could block some of the strikes.

"I waited for you to come to me. I waited years for you, James." Saleena said to me.

"I was afraid. I was a coward!" I shouted back, releasing from the clash. We started walking in circles around each other, staring each other down.

"By the time I was able to come back after my name was cleared, you were gone. I tried to find you. I never could." I said to her. "I wanted nothing more than to hold you, Saleena. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to resume our lives together."

"I came into contact with Victoria within the last ten years. She promised me she could help me find you. But she wanted me to kill you." Saleena told me.

"Is it because of her parents?" I asked.

"Yes. She wanted revenge. And to be honest, so did I. I wanted to know why you never showed up." she explained.

"I see." I said, holstering my weapons. "I'm not going to fight you Saleena. I've fucked up a lot in my life. I know I can't bring back any of our lost time. But if you want to kill me, then do so."

I sat down on the ground, bending my knees and sitting with my heals under me, like a samurai. I closed my eyes and waited. All I could hear was Mikey and June fighting in the background.

I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck in embrace and heard Saleena softly cry. I put my arms around her and held her for a moment.

"Oh my God, Psych! Like, what the fuck are you doing?" June asked in a whiney voice.

"Shut the fuck up, princess!" Mikey shouted. He landed a hard right hook to Junes cheek making her fly and spin away from him.

"EW! I'm gonna have, like, such a huge bruise. My makeup is gonna be totally gone for covering this up!" June complained. Let's get out of here Psych!"

June began to run away from the fight as Mikey stood in place and brushed himself off.

I took the swords off my back and handed them to Saleena. "Take these."

"Why? These are yours" she said.

"Hold onto them for me. I'll be back to get you." I whispered.

"Why must I go?" Saleena asked.

"LCN troops are on their way. I promise I'll come back. I mean it this time." I said, looking into her eyes.

"I'll be waiting…" she whispered. "I still love you…"

"I love you too…" I replied back.

Saleena wiped her tears and ran off towards June. Mikey ran up to me as she got away.

"Why did you let her go? And why did you give her your swords?!" Mikey asked.

"You do crazy shit for love." I replied, standing up and walking back towards the entrance.

"For what!?" Mikey shouted. "Bitch, you got some explaining to do!"

**[ Oh boy. Looks like Reaper has a bit explaining. How exactly does he know Saleena, aka Lady Psych? Find out next time in, "Raids and Revelations"! Don't miss it!]**


	11. Preparing for the Battle at Hand

**[I scrapped the idea I had for the last chapter and changed the name. Hope I didn't cause any confusion.]**

**Chapter 11**

**Preparing for the Battle at Hand**

"Hey Reaper! I got the weapons made. Check them out." Hulio shouted to me.

I walked over to his desk. On it sat a samurai katana with a crimson blade, next to it was its sheath. The scabbard had an AR-15 body, with a trigger and magazine holder. Lying next to them was a unique revolver. It was double barreled and had two cylinders.

"Nice job, Hulio. I like this gun." I said, looking at the pistol. My eyes turned to the sword. I picked it up and began to twirl it, showing off my skills. Sorry, I'm a showoff…

I grabbed the sheath and put it back in. Looking at the thing as a hole, I looked at the trigger.

"What does this do?" I asked, carelessly putting my finger on the trigger.

"Wait, DON'T…" Hulio shouted. Too late… I pulled the trigger and the sword made a sound like a gun-shot. The sword shot out of the sheath and flew across the room, hitting a soldier in the back of the head. I winced as the handle smack the poor guy.

"The trigger causes a powder charge and the sword flies out at the same velocity as an AR-15 round…" Hulio explained, burying his face in his hand.

"I see…" I slowly said. I walked up to the soldier and picked the sword up. "He'll be fine."

I heard Kitty snicker at me. I glared back at her.

"How am I gonna catch it at that speed? Or is it just used for shooting?" I asked.

"Well, I'm working on an arm guard that will double as armor and enhance your reflexes to catch it in enough time to use it as extra cutting momentum." Hulio said. We walked over to the guard. It had small needle like prongs on the inside of it.

"I like the idea… but are all the needles necessary?" I asked.

"It supplies you will a steroid type substance that enhances your reflexes. You won't feel a thing." Hulio said patting me on the back.

_All these tattoos I have and I STILL fuckin hate needles…_

000

"Oh my god, Psych! Why did you not kill him? He was, like, right there!" June whined.

"My reasons should be none of your concern!" Saleena coldly stated, holding tight to James' katanas.

"Where did you get those? Bitch you already have swords!" June shouted.

Saleena replied with a swift smack across June's face. Saleena stared coldly at June, who was in the floor holding her face. She walked off to her room and left June sitting there, with an alarmed look on her face.

"_Hurry up James… I don't know how much longer I can keep them thinking I'm one of them…"_ Saleena thought to herself.

000

I practiced in the dojo with my sword draw. I was getting pretty good with it… of course, everyone ducked every time pulled the trigger. I don't blame them…

I got done practicing for the day, and sat for a moment to catch my breath and take a drink of water. I started thinking to myself…

It's been a few weeks since I saw Saleena… she's still just as beautiful when I first saw her…. But I can't get distracted. We're almost ready for the final fight. Very soon… Moon will fall… And I can try to make up the lost time Saleena and I have lost…

_Hold on baby… We're comin to get you…_

000

Moon stormed into the meeting room. Papers were in her hand but almost completely crumpled from her tightly clenched fist. She stomped to her chair and slammed the papers down.

"It's time for war! LCN has been in too long of an existence. Kitty, Justyn and James have been alive for too long!" Moon shouted to the group of soldiers and the three other women.

Saleena sat in her chair. She had James' swords on her belt instead of her own. She had one of her hands tightly gripping the handle as she sat and listened to Moon.

"And it seems that one of us…" Moon said turning to face Saleena, "Might not be one-hundred percent dedicated to our cause."

The whole room turned to face Saleena. She coldly stared back at Moon. "I assume you mean me, dear sister?" Saleena asked.

Moon arrogantly walked over to Saleena's seat and sat on the table in front of her. "I doubt you can keep your mind off that merc for longer than a few seconds." Moon said looking down to see Saleena's new weapons. "And I highly doubt you were able to take those from him."

Saleena cocked her eyes down at James' katanas and looked back up to Moon. "Are you jealous that I actually got something from him without even trying?"

Karma snickered at Saleena's remark and Moon face became slightly red.

"H-how DARE you, Saleena!" Moon shouted.

"Oh please, Victoria. You questioning my loyalty is the least of your worries. Reaper is the one you need to fear." Saleena said with a devilish smirk.

"I believe she has you beat, sister." Karma chimed in. "Reaper should be our main target."

"I told you! Kitty is my enemy. So long as that damn Italian and his merc friend are in the picture, we can't get near her." Moon said, turning to face Karma.

"How about we, like, totally announce war on them? We can get them today, right?" June asked, chewing her gum loudly.

Moon slowly walked to her seat. She brought her fingers to her lips and began to think.

"That may very well be the smartest thing you've said." Moon said darkly. June's face brightened up with a dumb smile.

"Assemble to the troops. Ready weapons." Moon ordered motioning her troops in the room. They rushed out of the room and left the four women their alone.

"We'll lead LCN to the old arena. Bring them out in the open…and kill them before they know what they've gotten into." Moon rambled. Saleena rolled her eyes.

"_James isn't THAT stupid you dumb cunt…"_ Saleena thought to herself.

"Be ready in an hour. We issue the attack then." Moon said.

000

"Trust me. You won't feel a thing!" Hulio yelled at me. He was about to clamp the arm device down on me.

"I swear, if it stings even a little, I'm gonna-YEEEEEOOOOOWWW!" I yelled as Hulio closed the device on me. A bunch of pinches covered my arm as the small needles went inside. "Jesus! That's fucking hurt!"

"Wimp." Kitty said. I turned and glared at her and she began to laugh.

"Not only will it inject a reflex enhancing drug, but it will dish out some pain killers too." Hulio said to me. I just shook my head.

"Try it with the sword. Move around a little and see what you think." Hulio told me.

I got up and walked around, stretching my right arm. It tingled a lot when I moved it, but it wasn't unbearable. It was annoying as hell though, but if it helped me use this sword better, then fuck it… I'll use it.

Mikey and Justyn stood a solid steel block in front of me. If this thing worked right, I could easily cut through it in one swipe.

I hooked the sword on my left hip and got into position for drawing. I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The powder discharged and the sword flew out. Time seemed to slow down as I grabbed the handle of the katana. Using the momentum, I was able to cleanly slice through the steel block. The steel slowly slid off and hit the floor with a thud. The part that I cut was glowing red from the heat.

The room began to cheer and clap at me. "Sweet." Hulio shouted as he continued to cheer.

Amidst of all the commotion, a soldier ran inside the main room. He was bleeding from his shoulder from a bullet wound.

"Godfather. It's the government. They've issued war!" the soldier said before falling to the floor.

Justyn and Don rushed over to help him.

"Where and when?" Don asked.

"At… the old stadium. The Arena. They will be waiting for us all." he explained.

"Get him into the infirmary." Don shouted over his shoulder. A few nurses came and help the soldier to the medical area to heal his wounds.

"Looks like it's time to end this ongoing battle once and for all." Justyn shouted looking to all of us. "For too long we have stayed hidden. For too long, we have lived like rats in a sewer, scavenging for resources. It's time to end that all. Tonight, LCN will rise up and take down the corrupt government that we know of!"

The room filled with cheers. Everyone clapped and shouted.

"If this Lady Moon wants a fight…" Justyn said looking to me and Kitty. "then we sure as fuck will!"

"Damn right we will!" Mikey shouted.

"Let's give 'em hell!" Amy yelled out.

"YEEEEHAAAWWW!" Doc and I screamed in unison.

"The Wanted Outlaws are back and we're comin to kick some ass!" I yelled.

"Get everyone ready. Arm yourselves. Be ready to move out in one hour!" Justyn shouted. "We're either talking these fuckers down tonight, or we will die trying in a blaze of glory!"

The room erupted into one last cheer then everyone dispersed. I ran up to Justyn.

"I'll be right back. I gotta get old faithful." I said to him. Justyn replied with a confused look.

"It's my old armor!" I explained. His face brightened up and he motioned for me to go.

000

My phone rang while I was riding home. It was a number I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Long time old friend." I said into the phone.

"It's nice to hear from you too. I hear you have a slight problem. Mind if I bring a few friends along to help you?" the female voice said.

"It would be an honor to fight alongside you once again" I said with a smile. "Meet us at the arena. Bring whoever."

"Done. See you soon." the voice said. I hung up the phone and continued riding.

000

After the short ride, I pulled my bike up to my house. I ran inside, practically busting the door off its hinges. I ran to my bedroom and opened up the secret door. I ran down stairs to the secret armory and pressed a button that unlocked a bullet-proof screen door. My armor stood on a mannequin inside, along with my remade scythes I used later on.

I grabbed the chest piece and fastened it on tight. I took the arm-guards and wrapped them around my shoulders and lower arms. I took the gun belt and snapped it around my waist. I stuck the new revolver Hulio made in the holster. I also hooked the sword on the left side of my belt.

I looked up to see the two small scythes. They could extend and connect at the handles to form a double-bladed scythe. Works well as a boomerang too. I folded them and placed one on each leg.

I put on the last piece of armor and walked out. I started to wrap the cloth band back around my left eye, when I saw my old aviator sunglasses lying on my desk. I looked at the cloth for a moment, then back to my glasses. I smirked, and tossed the cloth onto the desk and grabbed the glasses. I walked outside my house, jumped back on my bike, put on my aviators and drove off towards the arena. It's time to end the war.

000

I rode up to the entrance of the arena. Everyone was already there. Kitty's face brightened up when she saw the armor I was wearing. I jumped off my bike and ran up to the front. All the old friends were there.

"Haven't seen you wear that in a while, bud." Mikey said.

"I figured I should be ready." I replied with a smirk. "It looks like we'll have some old friends help us out."

"Who?" Kitty asked me.

About that time, a small helicarrier flew by and landed a short distance from it. The back opened up and a large amount of armored soldiers came out. After them, men dressed in Japanese armor filed out. They stood around the helicarrier, weapons drawn.

Two women walked out. One wore an armored ninja get-up. Her hair was in a ponytail and she carried two swords on her back along with some kunai and shurikens on her belt. The other had her hair in two buns, one on each side. She had on more traditional armor with multiple daggers and short blades all over her.

"Miuki! Hitomi!" Ashley and EJ shouted, smiling brightly. The two women smiled back and bowed to us all. We did the same to them.

"We brought more." Miuki said with a smirk. She turned to face the heli and out stepped two more, a man and a woman.

The man was about my height and build. He carried an assault rifle with a ton of ammo belts wrapped around him. The woman carried a sniper rifle in one hand and an SMG in the other.

"Matthew! Crystal!" Kitty shouted. She jumped up and down a few times in excitement.

The four made their way up to the front with us and we exchanged friendly greetings.

"Never thought we'd see you guys again." Matt said. "Looks like we get to do one more mission together, huh Kitty?"

"Looking forward to it." Kitty replied.

"Alright. We got our priorities people!" I shouted, turning to the crowd of soldiers. "Moon seems to after Kitty, protect her! MY target is getting Saleena, aka Psych, out of danger. Focus on Moon's two lieutenants, June and Karma. They will most likely be on the front lines."

"This war is going to end. We will show the world the power of LCN!" Justyn shouted. The crowd erupted with cheers and yells.

"Let's kick some ass." I said, patting Justyn on the back.

"Let's!" he replied. We took a step back and kicked the main door in. it flew off its hinges and landed several feet inside the arena.

We made our way inside to the giant open area. It was dark due to the lateness of the day. We all made it in when the flood lights came on, almost blinding us.

I looked up to a higher platform and I saw her. Moon, Saleena and the other two were standing up on a ledge.

"Welcome LCN!" Moon said into the microphone. "I see you have brought friends. No matter. They will die tonight too."

"That's what you think, ya psycho bitch!" Justyn shouted, pointing his magnums up to Moon.

'Oh dear Justyno… We could've been so much if you had just let me kill you when we were alone." Moon said with a sarcastic pout on her face.

"Yeah… and I should'a tied you up and beat you senseless with a padlock in a sock!" Justyn replied. Moon's face turned red and Saleena snickered.

"I think it's me you want, missy!' Kitty shouted.

"Ah yes. Kitty Johnson. I will kill you just as heartlessly as you killed my mother." Moon said, locking her glare to Kitty.

"Told you before. It wasn't me who killed her, bitch." Kitty replied, twirling her sword. "You definitely resemble your mother. You're batshit insane for sure."

"ENOUGH!" Moon shouted." It makes no difference. You will die tonight!"

As if on cue, a load of government soldiers poured into the arena. The whole stadium was full. Half was LCN and the other half was government troops.

"No turning back now." Doc said to me.

"No shit…" I replied.

"Dear sister. May I do the honors?" Saleena said to Moon. I looked up to catch Saleena give a wink to me. I gave her a confused look.

She took a step back and kicked Moon off the ledge. Moon fell about fifteen feet and landed hard on the ground, about three feet from us. She kicked Karma in the gut and punched June square in the face.

Saleena flipped over the ledge and landed next to me and Kitty. Saleena looked me in the eye and smiled.

"Let's end this." Saleena said to me. I nodded and put a hand on my sword.

Moon got up and began to run inside the stadium. Karma and June got back up and ran back inside the building.

"ATTACK!" Justyn shouted. And as Kitty, Saleena and I ran after the three… All hell broke loose…

**Oh Hell, here we go! The final battle between LCN and the New US Government army. Let's worry about James and Saleena. Will they make it out alive and reclaim lost time? Who knows… See ya next time in, "Personal Vendettas are a Bitch…"]**


	12. Personal Vendettas are a Bitch

**Chapter 12**

**Personal Vendettas are a Bitch**

"Follow me! I know where they are going!" Saleena shouted to me and Kitty.

"Where would that be?" Kitty asked.

"The reactor room. It's where we used to meet. There's an abandoned factory down there." Saleena explained.

"There's a fucking factory under the arena!?" I shouted, running down the long set of stairs.

"Yes. It was built a long time ago. The Division sponsored the building of it." Saleena said to me. I grumbled at the mention of that name.

We ran down the long flight of stairs and turned a corner to see Moon, Karma and June run into an elevator. I pulled out my pistol and fired at them. Sadly, I missed as the door closed. Moon gave a dark grin to us as the door sealed shut.

"Fuck!" I shouted, kicking the door.

"There's another elevator. Here" Saleena said, pointing to another door on the opposite side of the room.

The three of us ran inside. Saleena pressed the button and we began the decent.

000

After a minute, the doors opened slowly into a darkly lit room. The smell of sulfur and acid filled the room. There was an almost unbearable heat in the room as well. We all had our guns out, watching every corner. We scanned the balconies and the walkways. Nothing was there.

A squeaky laugh echoed softly throughout the room. A shadow darted across a walkway. Kitty took a few shots but missed.

"Dammit…" Kitty complained.

"Teehee! She missed! Stupid cunt!" a high-pitched voice rang out from above us.

"Look who's talking, ya dumb bitch!" Kitty shouted back. She opened fire on the walkways and the voice began to scream.

"Not cool!" she shouted back.

"Then come down and fight, June!" Saleena shouted. A whine came from above and the figure landed about twenty feet away from us. She pulled out her giant bat and laid it across her shoulders.

"Where's the rest of your group?" Kitty asked, keeping her gun pointed at her.

"We're right here." a Russian woman said. Another figure jumped next to June, holding a LMG with a long belt of ammo running from the gun around her body.

"Always bringing a gun to a sword fight. Typical you, Karma." Saleena said, shaking her head and twirling her katanas.

"I do not need my gun, but I prefer it over the primitive sword." Karma replied.

"Where's Moon?" I demanded.

"Right here, Reaper." she said. Moon jumped down and landed in between the other two.

She was dressed in a set of ancient ceremonial battle armor, holding a spear in one hand.

"Think you can move around in that rusty piece of garbage?" Moon taunted me.

"This armor is a helluva lot more durable that your shit." I replied.

"We shall see." Moon growled, gripping the spear with both of her hands.

"I'm right here, bitch." Kitty said, stepping forward.

"We'll keep the other two off you Kitty. Focus on Moon, we'll handle the rest." Saleena said.

"You sure?" Kitty asked.

"We got this shit. Take that psycho out!" I replied drawing my sword out of its sheath. Kitty nodded and put her gun to the side. She drew out her sword and readied herself.

"Leave the kitten alone with me, girls. Take care of this pest and the traitor." Moon said, spinning her spear and walking towards Kitty.

Saleena and I walked to the side. June and Karma followed us, keeping the large gap between us. We went into an open area. There was plenty of room for us to fight. I glanced back to see Kitty and Moon inching closer and closer to each other, weapons drawn.

"I'm nervous, James…" Saleena said softly. "I want to make it out of here to be with you. Pick up where we left off."

"We will. We'll take care of these two jokers, and then we'll help Kitty finish off Moon." I assured her. She turned to face me and took me by the hand.

"Never forget how much I love you." she said, looking into my eye.

"Ever since I saw you again, you haven't left my thoughts." I replied.

Our lips touched in a gentle kiss… one last kiss before battle…

"Oh god, I'm gonna puke." Karma remarked. I pulled my pistol out and took a shot at her. The bullets hit her gun. Her machine gun flew out of her hand and over the railing, falling into a giant pit full of a molten liquid.

"Looks like your main offense is gone." I said with a smirk on my face.

"My bowie knife collection will have to do then." Karma replied. She pulled out two large bowie knives, holding one in each hand.

"I'll take Karma." Saleena said, stepping forward to meet her in the middle.

_Oh thanks babe… Give me the annoying bitch with the big club… GREAT!..._

"Looks like it's gonna be me and you, June." I said, stepping to the right a short ways.

"I'm so gonna pound you into the ground." June taunted, swinging her club around.

"I hardly doubt you'll get the chance." I replied. I drew out my new katana. The sound of the metal coming out of the sheath filled the air. The crimson blade shined in the light of the over-hanging lamps.

I glanced over to Saleena. She nodded her head to me. I nodded back.

We rushed the two girls as they ran at us. June gave a horizontal swing at my head. I easily ducked it by sliding on my knees. I dug the blade of the sword in the ground and used the momentum to turn around, get back up and go back after her.

June spun around, swinging her club wildly. I carefully blocker her strikes with my katana. She wasn't the most precise I've ever took on… she was using a giant club after all…

Saleena and Karma were a flurry of strikes. The air was filled with the sound of their blades clashing. Saleena managed to knock a bowie knife out of Karma's hand, but Karma kicked her away and pulled another out of her belt.

June kept swinging wildly. I managed to actually dodge most of her strikes, having to block only every so often. June smacked a large container and smoke filled the immediate area. We both coughed violently, trying to get the smoke out of our lungs.

"Clumsy bitch!" I shouted.

"I may be a total bitch, but I am so not clumsy!" June whined, stomping her feet. I took that time to sheath my sword and unhook the sheath from my belt. I aimed at her and pulled the trigger. The sword flew out of its scabbard like a bullet and hit June right in the gut.

The handle smacked her hard and bounced off of her. She flew back from the force and landed hard on the steel grated floor.

The sword flipped through the air back to me and I caught it with ease.

"You also get a little too distracted." I darkly said, smirking. June screamed at me and jumped back up and ran for me again.

Karma swung at Saleena's head, grazing her cheek. She pulled away from the swings to check herself. A small cut went along the side of her face. Karma went in for an executioner style swing while Saleena was bent over. I was in a lock-up with June. I kicked her away, pulled out a throwing knife and threw it at Karma.

The knife hit hers and it flew out of her hand. Karma gave me an angry look; I merely flipped her off in response.

000

Back outside, the battle raged on. Justyn, Mikey and Don shot a steady stream of bullets into the army ranks.

"Yeah, fuck you too asshole!" Justyn shouted.

Doc, Amy, Matthew and some others laid down covering fire with the LMGs. Mercs that Doc met helped in the fight with us as well.

Crystal and Hulio took care of the sniping. They took out each target with pinpoint accuracy.

The entire fight was mass chaos. Mercs and army officers shot at each other. The hole place looked like a fucked up hornet's nest.

000

June jumped back up and ran for me again. I pulled my sword up and blocked her overhead strike. I flicked my wrist, making her club bounce off my sword. I smacked her in the stomach with the butt of the sword, winding her.

It was time to end her painlessness. I stuck my sword back in the sheath, readying for a strike. June positioned her club to block my swing. I pulled the trigger and the sword shot out. I caught it in enough time to land a diagonal slash across her.

A bright red glow came from her club. A sizzling sound came from it as half of it slid off, smoke coming from it. She could only look in shock as half of her weapon was gone.

I turned and put my back to her and slowly put the sword back in its sheath. As I clicked it in place, I heard her yell in pain. I turned in enough time to see the top half of her body slide off of her waist as she fell to the floor. A pool of blood formed around her lifeless body.

I turned to face Saleena, she was still fighting Karma.

Kamra managed to knock Saleena's katanas out of her hand and out of reach. Karma delivered a strong thrust kick to her chest, knocking her about five feet away.

"Time to die, dear sister!" Karma said darkly. A shot rang out and Karma stood still, with her knife still raised in the air. A trail of blood ran down the side of her face, two bullet holes in her temple. Saleena turned to see me holding my gun, aiming down to Karma.

Her body started to get off balance and then finally fell over the railing. It fell down into the darkness below.

I ran over to Saleena and picked her up off the ground. We embraced in a hug.

"You okay?" I asked her, looking at her cheek.

"It's just a scratch, I'm fine." she replied.

"Okay. Let's go help Kitty." I said. We took off in a sprint towards Kitty.

She was in a lock up with Moon. Their clothes torn and ripped from fighting. Moon's armor was almost gone.

"You will pay little kitten." Moon said.

"The one who killed your mother is dead. Jeff was insane. He killed her!" Kitty shouted.

"Lies. Lies! LIES!" Moon screamed.

As we were running, I noticed a green laser pointed at the back of Kitty's head.

"Kitty! Duck!" Saleena shouted. Kitty looked over her shoulder to see us running to her. She pushed Moon away and ducked. A shot rang out and a bullet whizzed over Kitty's head. Saleena and I stopped in our tracks as a large bullet hole was in Moon's forehead. Blood poured out and she fell back.

I pulled my pistol out and aimed up at the walkways. The laser was nowhere in sight. I didn't know if the sniper was one of ours or accidently shot Moon in the head. I still didn't trust whoever it was.

"You alright, Kitty?" I asked, turning back to face her.

"Yeah. Just a few cuts and bruises." Kitty said, standing up. "You deal with the others?"

"Yep. They're dead." Saleena said.

"Good." Kitty replied, dusting herself off. She turned to Moon's body and shook her head slowly.

"Poor one... She was blind with rage. Went on a mission after the wrong person. And for what? Only to die in vain." Kitty said.

"She could've been a great addition to the family. We could've worked with her." I replied.

"Her intentions were wrong from the start. But I am glad for one thing." Saleena said. I turned to face her, giving her a strange look.

Saleena took a hold of my right hand and looked up to me. "If I never joined her, I would not have gotten to see you again."

I smiled warmly at her and she smiled back. I held her tight for a moment.

"Alright you two lovebirds. Can we please go back and help LCN finish this fight?" Kitty said, with her hands on her hips.

"Oh shit, right! We better go." I said. Kitty started to run off. Saleena and I followed close.

We made it to the elevator. As the doors opened, another gunshot rang out from behind us. Kitty and I ducked, pointing our guns to the walkways again. I noticed Saleena was frozen in her tracks.

"Saleena, get down!" I yelled.

She turned to face me, tears in her eyes.

"James…"

"No. No! NO!" I screamed. Saleena fell as I caught her in my arms. A bullet hole was I her back. She lay in my arms, gasping for air. My hands and arms got covered in her blood. I fought back the tears.

_Not like this… Not like this!..._

A sinister laugh echoed around the reactor room. Kitty kept her gun aimed into the dark room.

"Show yourself!" Kitty shouted.

"With pleasure." a familiar voice said. A shadow figure dropped from the walkway into the shadows on our level.

"Show your fucking self!" I screamed, staring in its direction. The man walked into the light so we could see his face. Kitty's jaw hit the ground and she practically dropped her gun. My eyes widened as much as they could in disbelief.

"You!?... You're supposed to be… DEAD!?" I shouted.

**[Oh boy… Just when you thought everything was fine…shit came up again… What's gonna happen to Saleena? Will the three of them make it out? And who is this man? Find out next time]**


	13. The Devil Inside

**Chapter 13**

**The Devil Inside**

"Long time no see Reaper. How many years has it been?" The man said, slowly walking forward. His arms were crossed and he had a demonic smirk on his face.

"Craig…" I growled. My blood was boiling, I was about to snap.

"How did you survive?!" Kitty asked in disbelief.

"I have my ways little one." Craig replied with a chuckle.

"Why Craig..? WHY!?" I screamed.

"This whole family war… the government… RMKQ… it was all a ruse. All I have wanted was to take everything away from you and everyone you cared for. You were supposed to die too, child." Craig explained.

"You tried to kill me and Doc all those years ago. Is being number two assassin in The Division still haunting you that much?" I growled. Craig's grin turned to a dark frown.

"You were never supposed to happen! I AM the best killer in the world. And I shall prove it tonight." Craig said.

"And how are you gonna do that!? You've proved you're the biggest dumb-fuck in the universe!" I shouted back.

"In ten minutes… this factory with explode. It will cause a cave in and all your friends will die. Including your beloved Saleena." he said with a grin.

"Fuck you…" I growled.

I turned back to Saleena, her makeup dripping from the tears.

"Baby, don't worry. We're gonna get you out of here. We'll start a new life, settle down… anything." I said to try to calm her down. Her eyes looked up to mine. She looked at me and smiled softly.

"I'll never forget when we first met… you defended me when no one would… I remember our first night together… I remember every good thing you brought me…" Saleena said to me. I began to softly cry. "You have to fight him. I know you have nothing to prove. You are the best."

"Saleena…" I muttered. I was at a loss for words. I was holding the love of my life in my arms while she was dying…

"There's no need for words, James. It will all be ok. You're strong." she said. Saleena brought her hand up and held the left side of my face. I reached up and held her hand softly. Tears flowed from my eyes as my love lay in my arms, slowly dying.

"I love you James." Saleena said softly.

"I love you too Saleena." I replied.

I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. After a moment, I pulled back, she still held onto my hand. Saleena looked into my eyes and smiled.

"Make me proud baby." she said. Her smile slowly faded away and her head began to fall back slowly.

"Saleena..?"

I felt her grip loosen and fall out of my hand. Her head leaned back and her eyes closed. I felt one last breath escape her…

"Saleena!?"

…and she was gone.

"SALEENA!?"

I shook her, but she didn't respond… she was dead…

"SALEENAAAAAA!"

I screamed and cried… my love was dead… I buried my face into her shoulder, holding her tight against me, crying.

The elevator door opened behind Kitty. She turned and drew her gun up.

"Hold the fuck up, it's us!" Justyn shouted, holding his hands up. Justyn, Doc, Mikey, Crystal and Matthew stepped out of the elevator, still holding their guns.

"Bro..?" Doc said.

"She's dead…" I muttered, still holding Saleena tight against me.

I felt Kitty's hand on my shoulder. Doc walked over to me and kneeled next to me.

"We'll take care of her. She deserves a proper burial." Doc said to me.

I collected my thoughts and calmed down just enough to reply.

"The place is rigged to blow. Get everyone out of here. I'll finish this here and now." I said.

Doc nodded. I carefully handed him Saleena's body. I stood up slowly, still holding my head low. The group started to head back in the elevator.

"Too bad your bitch won't make it out here. Her pathetic body will disintegrate like everyone else's." Craig mocked.

I stood still… something inside of me snapped. I looked up slowly to face everyone. Everyone took a step back… they could see the fire in my eyes. The demon I kept asleep for so long had come loose. I turned to face Craig and screamed at him with everything in me. I wasn't in control anymore. I wasn't James Marx anymore…

"YOU MOTHER FUCKER!"

I got low to the ground and took off in a dead sprint towards Craig. He took a step back, pulled out a pistol and began to shoot at me. One managed to graze my arm, but I could feel no pain.

I got close to him and tackled him hard. We fell over the railing, down to a pit of molten liquid. There was a narrow walkway over the pit, the perfect place for the final fight. I grabbed him by the face and pushed as hard as I could. We hit the walkway, his head slamming into the narrow strip.

I tried to keep him down with one knee and began to choke him as hard as I could. I never took my eyes off of him. He was gonna die, even if I had to take him with me.

Craig was able to break loose from the chokehold by kicking me in the back. I did a short roll off of him, lying on my back. He got up quick and took a few steps back. I did a handspring and stood up, keeping my back to him.

"You're insane! You think you can win!?" Craig shouted to me, readying himself.

"Insane..?" I asked, beginning to quietly laugh. "I'm insane?"

My laughter increased by the moment. I put my face in my hand and began to laugh louder. I could barely keep my balance, I laughed like a madman.

"I'M INSANE!? Murderer! Coward!" I shouted, turning to face him. Craig took another step back. I could smell the fear…

"No matter Craig… You WILL die here… even if I have to take you WITH ME!" I screamed. I got into a fighting stance and stared him down.

Small explosions began to ring out through the factory. Large pieces of debris fell into the molten pit below, but neither of us flinched. You could cut the tension with a knife…

"Ready for round two, boy?" Craig taunted.

"You knew taking me out would make your fight a little easier. Things are different now." I growled. "This time… you won't get away."

I ran at Craig, screaming. He ran at me, a demonically calm look on his face. He went into a slide kick at about ten feet from me. I did a front flip over him and landed perfectly. I raised my left leg and kicked behind me. Craig blocked the kick and threw a few punches of his own. I dodged each one. He managed to punch me in the stomach, winding me. After that, Craig landed a hard right hook to my left cheek. I spun around and backhanded him in the face. He flew back a few feet, holding his face.

I ran after him again. He jumped in the air, landing a spinning kick to his chest, sending him back again. I started throwing claw-like punches to his face. I landed a swipe, making him back away from my frenzy. I ran up to him, did a 180-degree turn and did a standing back-flip kick to the back of his head.

Craig hit the ground hard, holding his head. I took a few steps back, readying myself.

"GET UP!" I yelled. Craig stood up slowly, still holding his head. He got into a fighting stance for a moment and rushed me again. He threw a front thrust kick at me. I jumped slightly to the side and landed a hard knee strike to his chest, sending him back again.

"Coward! Fight me!" I screamed again. I walked over to Craig and kicked him multiple times on the ground, making him roll farther back.

Craig grabbed my foot and pulled it out from under me, causing me to fall on my back against the steel grating. He kicked me across the face, making me roll away, dazed.

He got up and moved over to me. Craig got on me and started landing punch after punch on my face. Left hook, then a right hook, then over again.

My vision began to fade… I could see visions of the past flash before my eyes…

_My childhood that was robbed from me... Saleena… the frame up… me joining SFM… the battle with Jedi and Wings…_

The last thing I saw was Saleena's death… her dying in my arms… the pain I felt rushed through my body again. I opened my eyes and grabbed Craig's incoming fist. I punched him hard in the face. He rolled off me, screaming and holding his nose.

"You mother fucker!" he screamed, walking backwards. I stood up, wiping the blood from my mouth and nose. I spit out more blood into the pit below.

"You'll pay for tha…"

I landed a spinning kick to his face. His head snapped to the side and back. Craig stood their dazed, trying to keep his balance.

I rushed him, landing punch after punch to his chest, face and gut. Blood flowed from his nose and sprayed out his mouth every time I landed a blow to his face.

Craig swayed back and forth, coughing up blood. His face was swollen from the beat down. I could see him stare me down, but I wasn't about to let this bastard go.

I took a step back, and jumped into the air. I did a 720-degree spin and landed a kick to his cheek. I flew off the walkway, into the pit of molten liquid.

I stood there, trying to catch my breath… I walked over to the edge to see if I could see him squirming in agony. As I approached the edge, I felt a hand wrap around my ankle and pull me down, off the walkway. I grabbed the ledge in enough time. I looked down to see Craig holding on to my ankle.

"I'm taking you with me boy! Neither of us will make it out of here!" he shouted.

I started kicking him as hard and fast as I could. Each kick made him loosen his grip. Explosions started going off throughout the factory, getting louder by the second. I landed one final kick, and Craig lost his grip. He fell about twenty feet into the pool of lava-like liquid underneath me.

I pulled myself up and looked over the ledge to see him rise back up out of the lava. He tried swimming frantically to a ledge, screaming in pain. His skin was falling off and on fire.

A loud explosion sounded right above me. I looked up to see a large piece of equipment fall from the ceiling. It fell passed me and landed right on top of Craig. I could hear him no more…

_Hmmm… Smashing…_

More explosions went off through the building. I got up and ran towards the ladder. I got up and went to the elevator, pressing the button frantically. It was taking too long. I saw a staircase and made a quick decision to run up the stairs as fast as I could.

The whole place shook as the explosions went off, making it hard to keep my balance while escaping. I honestly had no idea if I was going to make it out…

000

"Do you think he'll make it?" Matthew asked.

"If I know James, that son of a bitch will make it out." Justyn said, wiping his brow.

The group stood outside the arena at a safe enough distance away from the soon-to-come explosion. Doc had wrapped Saleena's body in soft cloth to keep it safe. The ground began to shake as smaller explosions went off. Parts of the arena began to collapse as each mini earthquake happened.

After a few more rumbles, one powerful one sounded, causing a massive shockwave. It almost caused everyone to fall. The arena crumbled and fell hard to the dusty ground. A large dust cloud poured out of the rubble. Everyone ducked for cover from the incoming dust storm.

"Oh shit…" Mikey muttered.

"James!?" Miuki yelled.

"No… he can't die… not like this!" Kitty shouted.

"He's got to be there. He has to be alive…" Doc said.

Everyone waited for some time… but there were no signs of life. The longer they waited, the more their stomachs churned.

"He can't be…" Justyn said, starting to fall to his knees. "He can't be dead…"

Everyone stayed silent for a moment as the last few rumbles began to fade away. They all turned around and began walking back to base. As they walked, they heard the sound of someone coughing violently, off behind them. Mikey turned and pointed to a silhouette coming out of the dust.

"What's that?" he asked.

000

I was practically hacking up a lung, trying to get the fucking dust out of my system. I hand one arm covering my eyes and another swatting away the dust and dirt. As I made it out of the cloud, I was met by cheers and laughter. I wiped the dirt from my eyes and saw everyone making their way to me. A smile slowly formed on my face, I was happy to see them all alive and well.

"Attaboy! I knew the ol' Reaper was gonna be a hero." Justyn shouted, lightly punching my arm.

"Did ya get the fucker?" Mikey asked, rubbing my head.

"Yeah. He's fried. Swimming in a pool of lava with a ten-ton pipe on his head." I replied, cracking my knuckles. Everyone cheered loudly, jumping in the air and throwing stuff up into the air as well.

I was happy…until I saw Doc, holding Saleena's body. I slowly walked over to him and held my arms out. He gently handed her to me and I cradled her in my arms. Everyone got quiet as I stood there, holding her lifeless body.

"She does deserve a proper burial…" I said softly.

I turned to everyone. "It's time to go home everyone. This day belongs to us. I have all of you to thank. This day belongs… to Siciliyz Finest Men and Women!"

Everyone raised their fists into the air and shouted a victory cry.

000

Epilogue

5 Years Later…

000

I pulled up to a small cemetery out in the countryside, close to where my parents lived. I jumped off my bike and walked to a small gravestone. I kneeled down and looked at the inscription.

**Saleena Scott**

**Codename "Psych"**

**April 5****th**** 1991 – July 20****th**** 2020**

I placed a small bouquet of roses and lilies on her grave, those were her favorites.

_After the battle, I buried Saleena in the cemetery that may grandfather was buried. I will actually be buried in between them when I die…_

_After that was all done, everyone stuck around to straighten things out. The government was never really the bad guys… they just saw the dollar amount Craig offered and took the steps needed to take us down. I think we scared em out of it and got them to help us. We showed them that we are THE family that no one wants to fuck with. And no one did… no one stood up to any of our members. We lived easy lives from that day on…_

_Kitty ended up settling down with Matthew, rekindling their relationship. They have a son and daughter now. But they still keep into the merc business; it's an easy source of money._

_Poor Justyn went back to Italy and confessed to murder I believe he was charged with over one thousand counts… easy death penalty… but the judge was a mafia man. He let Justyn go free believe it or not. Justyn's son is actually heir to the family after his death._

_Don is actually helping mentor the young child. He doesn't want to bring SFM back, but rather keep it in its glory as the last most powerful family in the world._

_EJ and Ashley went back to Japan with Miuki and Hitomi to run the yakuza. They drop in from time to time to see us. They offer their help as well when needed._

_Amy was able to go to Paris and become a great chef. She owns a chain of restaurants all over the world and is making a good living._

_Mikey has it easy. He became the Head of Security for the most popular strip club in The Hub. It's called The Pole Position._

_Crystal and Hulio began working for the CIA and FBI. Crystal became their best pilot. Hulio got to be the best sniper in the Navy Seals as well. He was able to perform a delicate surgery on me, after years of research, that enabled me to see in my left eye once again._

_Doc went back to the merc life. He made his living killing and collecting bounties, so that's about all he knows… We work together often._

_And as for me…_

"James! Hurry up! We got things to do, people to kill!" a whiney voice called out from behind me.

…_well… I ran into Lisandra again. She's been my partner for the last few years. She's a great fighter… but I think she enjoys it a little too much…_

"Coming!" I shouted back. I kissed my hand and laid it down on Saleena's gravestone. I got back up and walked back to my bike. Lisandra was leaning against it, polishing her sword.

"Come on. We got a group of punks to take out." I said to her hoping on my bike.

"Yay! Who is it this time?" she squealed with excitement, hoping on the back of my bike, sheathed her sword and put her arms around me.

"I think they're called Wanted World Wide… a bunch of wannabe hard-asses that think they will rule the world…"I said, cranking the bike.

We took off towards the highway to WWW last known location.

It was another day…same old thing…

**[Holy shit! Final chapter and it went out with one helluva bang! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I really worked hard on this. This is my first fan fic I have EVER written. If anybody is wondering, I was working in collaboration with a very good friend of mine. My story is a sequel to her story. PLEASE check out **_**kittygirl2010**_** and her story **_**Family is Forever**_**. It tells the backstory of all this. Please show her some love guys. Thanks again everyone!]**


End file.
